Mercer University
15-6, 5-3SoCon
VMI
6-13, 1-7SoCon
Mercer Remains Unbeaten at Home with 73-58 Win Over VMI
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University men's basketball team improved to 9-0 on the season when playing in Hawkins Arena with a 73-58 victory against SoCon foe VMI. The Bears used a strong second half to seal the win, outscoring the Keydets 37-24 in the final 20 minutes.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite trailing for the majority of the first half, the Bears held a 36-34 lead at the halftime break. The Bears closed the half by scoring the last nine points in the final four minutes to take the lead. The Orange and Black led despite VMI's great shooting. The Keydets shot 10-for-16 from distance in the opening 20 minutes. Mercer finished the half shooting 12-for-23 from the field. The Bears were led by senior guard Jestin Lewis, who scored 14 points.
Mercer locked down on defense in the second half in the final 20 minutes, holding VMI to just 24 points. The Bears scored 10 of the first 12 points of the second session to open up a 10-point lead at 46-36. From there Mercer remained in control of the game until the final whistle, as the lead fluctuated between 15 and six points the rest of the way, ending with the 73-58 win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior guard Jestin Lewis poured in a game-high 22 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting effort from the field to lead the Bears to the win. The Richmond, Va., native went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to supplement his scoring. Lewis also grabbed four rebounds and notched two steals to put an exclamation mark on his evening.
MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Bears' defense swarmed the Keydets in the second stanza, holding VMI to 9-of-32 shooting from the field (28.1 percent). VMI only connected on 4-of-19 shots from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes. After scoring 14 points in the first half, Mercer held to QJ Peterson, the SoCon scoring leader, scoreless in the second.
NOTABLES
- The Bears are now 5-1 against the Keydets in the all-time series.
- Mercer remains perfect at home with a record of 9-0.
- No team has scored more than 70 points against the Bears in Hawkins Arena during the 2015-16 campaign, as VMI was the fifth team to fail to score 60 or more points against Mercer this season.
- The Orange and Black outrebounded VMI, 37-28, marking the 17th time the Bears have recorded more boards than the opposition.
- After allowing VMI to shoot 52.2 percent from the field with 10 treys in the first half, the Bears' SoCon-leading defense buckled down, holding the Keydets to just 28.1 percent shooting in the final period.
- The Orange and Black held VMI to 38.2 percent shooting on the evening, marking the 12th time the Bears have held the opposition under 40 percent on the year.
- The Mercer bench outscored the VMI bench 14-0 on the night.
- The Bears took advantage of turnovers on Thursday night, turning 15 VMI mishaps into 20 points on the other end. Jelks, Lewis and Jordan Strawberry each two thefts to pace the team.
- The Orange and Black reached the 30-point mark in scoring in the paint for the second-straight game after outpacing VMI, 32-12, in that statistic tonight.
- Lewis scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this season with a game-high 22.
- Phillip Leonard loaded up the box score, reaching double-figures in scoring for the 12th time this season en route to a 10-point, seven-board, six-assist effort.
- Jelks' 14 points put him in double-digits for the 13th time this year, as nine of those markers came in the final stanza.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer improves to 15-6 on the season and is now 5-3 in SoCon play, while VMI falls to 6-13 on the year and 1-7 in conference action.
UP NEXT
Mercer has a quick turnaround, as the Bears host UNCG on Saturday, Jan. 30 in Hawkins Arena. The game is slated for a 4:30 p.m. tip.
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.
