Tuesday, November 22
Macon, Ga.
7:00 PM ET
Mercer University
3-1
58
vs
47
Radford
1-3
1
2
F
Radford
14
33
47
Mercer
27
31
58
Team Stats
RAD
MER
FG%
.346
.444
3FG%
.286
.389
FT%
.556
.786
RB
33
29
TO
16
11
STL
3
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballSecond Half Shooting Paces Mercer Past Radford
11/22/2016 9:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Demetre Rivers scored a game-high 16 points and Mercer shot an impressive 63.2 percent from the field in the second half as the Bears withstood a Radford rally in a 58-47 win in front of 2,572 fans Tuesday evening at Hawkins Arena.
Rivers was perfect from the field (7-for-7) on the night with a three to his credit while also hitting his lone free throw attempt. Ria'n Holland added 15 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals as Mercer (3-1) remained perfect at home this season.
Radford (1-3), still in search of a road win, was led by Caleb Tanner's 12 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demetre Rivers was the picture of perfection Tuesday night. The junior guard was 7-for-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from behind the arc and 1-for-1 at the free throw line. He also added two rebounds on the night.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer shot an impressive 63.2 percent from the field in the second half while holding Radford to 34.6 percent shooting throughout the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A sluggish first half – Mercer shot only 30.8 percent from the field – gave way to a hot second half that kept the game out of reach for Radford. Despite taking a 13-point advantage into half and leading by as much as 18 in the second half, the Highlanders climbed back into the game on an 11-0 run as they cut the lead to seven.
But then Ryan Johnson took over, going on a 5-0 run himself (save for one Radford free throw) then a Rivers three pushed the lead back into double-digits.
But all was not sluggish for Mercer in the first half. Andrew Fishler registered five blocks and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes. That swarming defense helped keep Radford to just 24 percent shooting in the first frame.
COACH HOFFMAN'S TAKE
On the second half shooting:
"It was a good thing we shot 63 percent [in the second half], we might not have won with as many offensive rebounds as they were getting. We found each other and we executed a little better. We messed up when I ran a couple of things out of time outs in the second half that we've not run before, which was not good. But the plays that we did run, like the one where Jordan [Strawberry] got a couple layups, those were great. He can be aggressive like that and be ready to finish, that's tremendous."
"Then I thought Demetre got one basket on one play then when we went back to run it, they cut it off so he through it to Jordan for an open three in the corner. We work on those plays every day. We work on those slides, our coaches do a great job of getting our players in the right spots. Jordan was right there and we hit the three. Those are the things that make a huge impact. Over the course of the season if we can keep getting better at that, I think we can have a really special team."
On everyone contributing:
On Ryan, I challenged him a little bit because we need him. He had a 5-0 run all by himself, that was big. Rashad found him – they've played together enough they have figured that out – he found him on a back cut after he hit the three. We had just given up an 11-0 run when he hit that so I thought that
On Andrew Fishler:
Andrew is just a special young man. He wants to do everything perfect. When he messes up one thing we try to keep encouraging him. What he's really been working hard on is what the coaches keep asking him to do and his game has continued to develop. He's still not where he can get to – I believe there's still another level he can get to. He can affect the game, as he has many times already, when he has those opportunities. I just love that kid. He just works so hard, never has a bad day and is always trying to make others better. He is excited about playing when he gets those opportunities."
RECORDS
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.
Rivers was perfect from the field (7-for-7) on the night with a three to his credit while also hitting his lone free throw attempt. Ria'n Holland added 15 points to go with eight rebounds and two steals as Mercer (3-1) remained perfect at home this season.
Radford (1-3), still in search of a road win, was led by Caleb Tanner's 12 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demetre Rivers was the picture of perfection Tuesday night. The junior guard was 7-for-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from behind the arc and 1-for-1 at the free throw line. He also added two rebounds on the night.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer shot an impressive 63.2 percent from the field in the second half while holding Radford to 34.6 percent shooting throughout the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A sluggish first half – Mercer shot only 30.8 percent from the field – gave way to a hot second half that kept the game out of reach for Radford. Despite taking a 13-point advantage into half and leading by as much as 18 in the second half, the Highlanders climbed back into the game on an 11-0 run as they cut the lead to seven.
But then Ryan Johnson took over, going on a 5-0 run himself (save for one Radford free throw) then a Rivers three pushed the lead back into double-digits.
But all was not sluggish for Mercer in the first half. Andrew Fishler registered five blocks and four rebounds in the first 20 minutes. That swarming defense helped keep Radford to just 24 percent shooting in the first frame.
COACH HOFFMAN'S TAKE
On the second half shooting:
"It was a good thing we shot 63 percent [in the second half], we might not have won with as many offensive rebounds as they were getting. We found each other and we executed a little better. We messed up when I ran a couple of things out of time outs in the second half that we've not run before, which was not good. But the plays that we did run, like the one where Jordan [Strawberry] got a couple layups, those were great. He can be aggressive like that and be ready to finish, that's tremendous."
"Then I thought Demetre got one basket on one play then when we went back to run it, they cut it off so he through it to Jordan for an open three in the corner. We work on those plays every day. We work on those slides, our coaches do a great job of getting our players in the right spots. Jordan was right there and we hit the three. Those are the things that make a huge impact. Over the course of the season if we can keep getting better at that, I think we can have a really special team."
On everyone contributing:
On Ryan, I challenged him a little bit because we need him. He had a 5-0 run all by himself, that was big. Rashad found him – they've played together enough they have figured that out – he found him on a back cut after he hit the three. We had just given up an 11-0 run when he hit that so I thought that
On Andrew Fishler:
Andrew is just a special young man. He wants to do everything perfect. When he messes up one thing we try to keep encouraging him. What he's really been working hard on is what the coaches keep asking him to do and his game has continued to develop. He's still not where he can get to – I believe there's still another level he can get to. He can affect the game, as he has many times already, when he has those opportunities. I just love that kid. He just works so hard, never has a bad day and is always trying to make others better. He is excited about playing when he gets those opportunities."
RECORDS
- Mercer: 3-1 (3-0 home)
- Radford: 1-3 (0-3 road)
- Mercer: faces East Carolina (4-1) on Friday, Nov. 25 in Savannah, Georgia at 5 p.m.
- Radford: faces Stetson on Friday, Nov. 25 in Savannah Georgia at Noon
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.
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