Men's Basketball Eyes Fourth-Straight Win at Kennesaw State
1/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME NOTES
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team will put a three-game winning streak on the line Saturday when it travels to take on Kennesaw State. Game time at the KSU Convocation Center is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
COVERAGE
Saturday's game will have a web telecast on www.ESPN3.com with commentating from Paul Crane. Audio coverage can be heard live on The Peach, 96.5 FM with play-by-play coverage provided by "The Voice of the Bears", Rick Cameron.
MERCER MINGLE
Prior to Saturday's game, Mercer's Office of Alumni Services has organized a "Mercer Mingle" event. Alumni and Mercer basketball fans are encouraged to attend a pre-game lunch at 12:30 p.m. at the Elevation Chophouse & Skybar on 1723 McCollum Parkway, NW Kennesaw, Georgia 30144. Cost is $20 per person (game ticket included). Children 12 and under are $10. Game tickets will be distributed at lunch. Reservations required. Payment of cash or check will be accepted by phone or at the door. RSVP to Sharon Lim Harle at 678.547.6420 or lim_s@mercer.edu in the Alumni Office.
SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE
The Owls enter Saturday's matchup on a 12-game slide, with the team's lone win of the season coming against South Carolina State on November 12, 2012. Overall, Kennesaw State is 1-13 and 0-5 inside the KSU Convocation Center.
Kennesaw State boasts two of the league's top 20 scorers in senior Markeith Cummings and sophomore Delbert Love. Cummings tops the Owls and ranks second among league players at 16.9 points per game, while Love is 20th in the A-Sun at 10.4 points per game. Cummings has led the team in scoring nine times this season, while Love has three-straight games in double-figure scoring.
Senior Aaron Anderson is one of the conference's most adept rebounders, ranking third among A-Sun players with 7.7 rebounds per game. Last season, Anderson led the conference with an average of 9.0 rebounds per game.
Cummings and Anderson are the only two starters returning from last year's team that finished 3-28 (0-18 A-Sun). The Owls were picked to finish ninth in preseason polls of both the A-Sun coaches and media. The coaches also tabbed Cummings as a Preseason All-Conference selection.
FAST FACTS
Since 2009, Mercer and Kennesaw State games at the KSU Convocation Center have been decided by an average of 5.0 points. Last season, the Bears had to erase a six-point second half deficit to claim its 61-57 win.
If Mercer can defeat Kennesaw State on Saturday, the Bears will be 3-0 in league play for the first time since the 2002-03 season.
After not reaching the 20 point mark in his first 43 games with Mercer, Travis Smith has now booked back-to-back games with 20+ points. He's the first Mercer player to score 20 or more in two-straight games since Brian Mills did it in March of 2011. Smith now has three career 20+ point games, including a 22-point showing against Charleston Southern when he played for Presbyterian in 2009-10.
Head coach Bob Hoffman is only four wins away from his 400th victory as a collegiate men's basketball head coach. The only A-Sun coach with more is USC Upstate's Eddie Payne (407).
