Mercer University
9-3
Ohio St.
7-5
Ohio State Rides Big Second Half to Victory Over Mercer
12/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Mercer University men's basketball team fell to Ohio State, 64-44, on Tuesday night at Value City Arena.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer used a stifling defense to take control of the game in the early minutes, holding the Buckeyes to 1-of-11 shooting in the first seven minutes of the contest. The Bears took advantage grabbing their largest lead of the game, 20-13, on Stephon Jelks dunk. Ohio State answered with a 10-0 run to grab its first lead of the game, before taking a narrow 25-24 advantage into the break.
The Buckeyes pulled away in the second stanza, as Mercer was held to 31.8 percent shooting in the period. Ohio State came out of the break with a 13-4 to push its lead to double figures at 38-28. The Buckeyes controlled play in the second half and went on to win by a final of 64-44.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Desmond Ringer battled through foul trouble to have a career night for the Bears, scoring 16 of his career-best 18 points in the second half. The sophomore forward was the team's most efficient scorer in the game, converting 7-of-10 from the field and knocking down 4-of-5 from the charity stripe.
MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Orange and Black held the Buckeyes to 3-for-22 shooting from beyond the arc. The three makes allowed are the fewest for Mercer this season, as the Bears held two other teams to four three-pointers made.
COACH HOFFMAN'S TAKE
"Ohio State's length got us tonight. They sped us up tonight. My guys have been amazing. We have had an amazing first semester. We are 9-3 with a lot of road and neutral site games. We just got it taken to us tonight by a really good team that I thought we had a shot against and we did for a while.
NOTABLES
- Mercer held Ohio State to just three three-point field goals on the night, the lowest allowed this season.
- The Bears wrapped up their three-game road trip against Power 5 conference foes tonight, finishing with a 1-2 mark thanks Saturday's overtime win over Arkansas.
- The two squads battled to an even 36-36 mark on the glass, which was just the second time this season that the Bears have not won the battle of the boards.
- Jestin Lewis set a career-high with four steals, all of which came in the first half of action.
- Stephon Jelks fell one rebound shy of his third-straight double-double, finishing with a game-high nine caroms. The sophomore has led the team in rebounding seven times this season.
- Jordan Strawberry tied Lewis with a team-high three assists. The sophomore has led the Bears in the assist column in six straight games and a total of seven times this year.
- Demetre Rivers finished one rebound shy of matching his career-high, as the sophomore pulled down five boards on the night.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer slides to 9-3 on the season with just the second loss in its last eight contests, while Ohio State moves to 7-5 on the year.
UP NEXT: Mercer will have the rest of the week off for Christmas and then will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 30 for an intrastate showdown at Kennesaw State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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.
