Mercer University
2-0
George Mason
0-2
Mercer Uses Second Half Rally to Put Away Patriots
11/16/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer used a second-half rally to defeat former Final Four participant George Mason by a score of 69-60 on Monday evening inside Hawkins Arena. Mercer is now 2-0 on the young season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
George Mason got off to a quick start, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead in the opening minutes. The Bears answered with a 7-0 run to grab its first lead of the evening at 9-8, capped off by an Ethan Stair layup. The two sides played fairly even the rest of the half, with Mason taking a 28-26 lead to the halftime intermission.
The Mercer offense was led by sophomores Desmond Ringer and Demetre Rivers, as the two players combined for 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The Bears shot 47.8 percent over the opening 20 minutes, going 11-for-23 from the floor.
The Patriots controlled the first eight minutes of the second half, growing their lead to 11 points with under 11 minutes left in the game. The Bears immediately responded over the next two minutes, reeling off eight straight points to make it a one-possession game at 46-43. The two sides traded baskets over the next few minutes and then a Stephon Jelks layup at the 5:54 mark gave Mercer its first lead of the second half.
Mercer pushed its lead to six with three and a half minutes remaining but Mason had one last run in it, as it scored the next six points to knot the score up at 58-58 with 1:37 left in the second stanza. After a missed layup, Ringer grabbed a huge offensive rebound and then kicked out to an open Jestin Lewis behind the arc. The senior buried the trey from the top of the key with just over a minute left to put the Bears on top 61-58, a lead they would not relinquish. After a defensive stop, the Orange and Black went 8-for-8 from the free throw line to put the game away.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
With senior guard Jibri Bryan sidelined due to injury, sophomore Demetre Rivers earned the first start of his Mercer career and made an instant impact. Trailing early, Rivers got the Mercer offense started, scoring the Bears' first five points. The Goose Creek, S.C., native posted career highs in points (10), rebounds (5) and three-point makes (2).
STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Bears were extremely good at taking care of the ball against George Mason, recording just six turnovers in the game and only one in the second half. To make the stat even more impressive, not a single Mercer player recorded more than one turnover. The Bears totaled 14 assists for an impressive 7:3 turnover margin for the game.
HEAD COACH BOB HOFFMAN'S TAKE
"George Mason is a special program. Coach [Dave] Paulsen is a tremendous coach. It was fun to watch our guys find a way at the end, to collectively get it done. They did it play after play and they kept getting more and more energy when they started making those plays together. As a coach it doesn't get any better than that, to watch your guys get excited for each other when they have great possessions."
NOTABLES
- Hoffman claimed win number 147 during his Mercer tenure and is now just tied with Robert Wilder for second place on the Mercer all-time wins list.
- The Bears improve to 61-9 when playing in Hawkins Arena since the start of the 2011-12 season and have only lost one non-conference game at home since the beginning of the 2012 season.
- Mercer is now 1-1 against George Mason in the all-time series and 1-0 when playing in Macon.
- The Orange and Black shot 90.5 percent from the free throw line, shooting 19-for-21 on the night, including a perfect 16-for-16 in the second half.
- The Bears committed just 10 fouls on Monday, five in each half, never allowing the Patriots to get into the bonus.
- Jelks scored a career-high 16 points, including a personal-best 7-for-8 from the free throw line, six of which came in the final minute.
- Ringer pulled down a team-high six rebounds and added six points.
- In just his second game at the collegiate level, freshman Ethan Stair recorded a team-high 32 minutes of action and scored eight points to go along with four rebounds.
- Jordan Strawberry led the Bears in assists with six, a mark that matches his career high.
- Senior guard Phillip Leonard scored 10 points and has now reached double figures in both games this season.
UP NEXT
Mercer is back in action on Thursday, Nov. 19, as the Bears host an Alabama State squad that already knocked off Virginia Tech earlier this season. The game is slated to start at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be played in Hawkins Arena.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information and up-to-the-minute updates on Mercer men's basketball, please follow the team on Twitter at @MercerMBB.
