Bears Open 2017 Paradise Jam Facing Host School Liberty

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team will travel to Lynchburg, Va., to compete in the 2017 Paradise Jam, Nov. 17-19. The Bears open the tournament facing host school Liberty Friday, Nov. 17 at the Vines Center. Tip-off is slated for 12 noon.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Friday, Nov. 17, 2017 | 12 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (2-1) at Liberty (2-0)
Location: Lynchburg, Va. | Vines Center
TV: FloHoops.com
Live Stats: LibertyFlames.com/LiveStats
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

GAME NOTES
TOURNAMENT BRACKET

BEAR NECESSITIES
Last Time Out
All five starters on the Mercer men's basketball team scored in double figures, as the Bears defeated Jackson State 86-58 Tuesday night at Hawkins Arena.

Mercer clung to a 43-38 halftime lead but came out strong following the break to outscore the visiting Tigers 43-20 to post the 28 point victory. Senior guard Ria'n Holland continued to pace the Bears' offensive attack as he tallied a team-high 19 points on 7-11 shooting from the field, including 2-3 from behind the three point line. Holland also led the Bears in assists (5) and steals (5). Senior Desmond Ringer turned in an impressive performance with 14 points and seven rebounds. Also scoring in double figures were seniors Jordan Strawberry (13), Stephon Jelks (11) and Demetre Rivers (11). The Bears shot 51% from the floor and 81.5% from the free throw line. Jackson State was led in scoring by Maurice Rivers, who went for 19 points coming off the bench.

It's Paradise Jam Time
Mercer competes in the 2017 Paradise Jam this week, an eight-team tournament that features a solid field of participants. The tournament, originally scheduled to be held in the U.S. Virgin Islands, was relocated to the campus of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., due to the damage inflicted upon the islands from Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria. The Bears will square off in the opening game of the tournament against host Liberty. Other teams competing include: Drexel, Houston, Quinnipiac, Wake Forest, Colorado, and Drake. Each team is guaranteed to play three games in three days, with the championship game slated for Sunday, Nov. 19 at 8:30 p.m. All games will be played on Liberty's home court at the Vines Center. Liberty and the Paradise Jam will donate all gate receipts to the humanitarian relief in the U.S. Virgin Islands in order to assist with the recovery due to the hurricane destruction.

Mid-Major Top 25 Poll
The Mercer men's basketball team is ranked No. 16 in the Nov. 13 edition of the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

The Bears, currently 2-1 on the season, are the highest ranked Southern Conference team in this week's poll. SoCon rival Furman (1-0) is ranked No. 17.

Gonzaga (1-0), who finished runner-up to NCAA Champion North Carolina in last year's national tournament, is ranked first in this week's poll, accumulating 27 of the 31 first place votes. St. Mary's (1-0) received the remaining four first place ballots.

The Collegeinsider.com poll consists of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, and Western Athletic.

Ria'n Off to Fast Start
Senior guard Ria'n Holland is off to a fast start for the Bears. Through three games, he leads the team in scoring (22.0); three point shooting (12-20 for 60%) and free throw shooting (14-14 for 100%). Holland was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance in the team's opening two games. He went for 31 points in the 88-79 loss at Central Florida and then came back with a 16-point effort in the victory over Toccoa Falls. That 31-point effort vs. UCF was the second-highest output in his Mercer career. The 6-0 product of Fayetteville, N.C., scored a career-best 32 points last season vs. The Citadel. Holland has scored in double figures in 30 of the 35 career games he has played at Mercer.

Senior Leadership
Six seniors return from last year's team. Those senior leaders include: Desmond Ringer, Jordan Strawberry, Ria'n Holland, Demetre Rivers, Rashad Lewis, and Stephon Jelks. Holland is the team's leading returning scorer at 17.2 points per game; Jelks paced the club with 6.7 rebounds per outing; while Strawberry dished out a team-best 4.3 assists per contest.

Returning Firepower
Mercer returns all five starters from last season's club. Those five starters – Ria'n Holland, Jordan Strawberry, DemetreRivers, Desmond Ringer, and Stephon Jelks – combined to score a total of 1,744 of the team's 2,269 points on the season. That translates to nearly 77% of the Bears' offensive output from last year. In total, nine players are back from the 2016-17 team.

Preseason Watch List
Holland was named to the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by CollegeInsider.com earlier this month. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top NCAA Division I mid-major player. Holland is one of 51 mid-major players included on the preseason watch list. The award is named after Lou Henson, who coached college basketball for 41 years and was sixth all-time in career Division I wins (779) when he left the game in 2005. Holland is one of four players from SoCon teams included on the watch list. Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro-Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt and West Coast. The winner of the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award will be announced on March 31, 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

Holland was also named to the preseason All-Southern Conference team as selected by the league's coaches prior to the start of this year.

Balanced Scoring
So far this season, the Bears are featuring a balanced scoring attack. Four players are scoring in double figures, led by Holland at 22 points per outing. Sophomore Ethan Stair is coming off the bench to average 11 points per contest, followed by starters Demetre Rivers (10.7) and Jordan Strawberry (10.3). Mercer has also dished out 61 assists through the first three games, with freshman Marcus Cohen leading the way with 4.7 assists per outing.

Liberty Connection
While this will be Mercer's first ever meeting on the hardwood with Liberty, two of the Bears' assistant coaches are very familiar with the Flames' program. Mercer assistant coach Dale Layer was head coach at Liberty for six seasons – 2010-2015 – a period during which he led the Flames to the 2013 Big South Conference Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament berth. His 2011 club also set a school record for conference wins (13) in a season. Coach Layer also spent one season as an assistant coach at Liberty (2008), where he assisted in putting together a solid recruiting class that included current Dallas Mavericks' guard Seth Curry. Jason Eaker, also an assistant at Mercer, served on the Liberty coaching staff from 2008-2012, where he also was instrumental in helping put together some solid recruiting classes for the Flames.

Scouting The Opponent
This will be the first meeting between Mercer and Liberty. The Flames are members of the Big South and are 2-0 on the season, most recently upsetting Wake Forest 79-66. Liberty is coached by Ritchie McKay, who is in his fifth season at the helm. The Flames are led in scoring by junior guard Lovell Cabill, averaging 17 points per game. Redshirt senior Ryan Kemrite also averages in double figures (10 ppg) for the Flames. Liberty is averaging 83 points per game while only allowing an average of 54 for a +29 scoring margin.

How to Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer Basketball, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMBB (Twitter), /MercerBasketball (Facebook) and @Mercer_MBB (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Bears Open 2017 Paradise Jam Facing Host School Liberty

Players Mentioned

Stephon Jelks

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Ethan Stair

Jordan Strawberry

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