Mercer University
4-3
Davidson
5-1
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Mercer Falls to Davidson, 78-57
11/29/2016 9:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Ryan Johnson matched a career-high 10 points while JJ N'Ganga registered a career-best 13 rebounds but Mercer could not stop a hot-shooting Davidson squad in a 78-57 loss Tuesday night at Hawkins Arena in Macon.
The Wildcats (5-1), who nailed 39 percent from long range, made 29 of 64 from the floor while holding Mercer (4-3) to 21-of-56 shooting. Davidson also won the rebound battle 43-30 and forced 18 turnovers. Davidson was led by Jack Gibbs' 33 points in an 8 of 14 performance from beyond the arc.
The game marked the first Division I basketball game broadcast solely on Facebook Live.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Coming off the bench, JJ N'Ganga made his presence known as he matched a career-high eight points and became the first Bear with double-digit rebounds (13) this season. N'Ganga was 4 of 5 from the floor and was credited with a block in 20 minutes played.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer had not allowed more than 10 free throws until Tuesday night but the Wildcats sunk 14 treys on 36 attempts with Jack Gibbs responsible for eight of those 14.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"They are a special team and they have an amazing coach. They got us on a lot of things that we knew they were going to bring to the table. We thought we would be able to guard them a little better than we were able to.
"The crux of the game was the first three offensive rebounds they turned into nine second-chance points. We finished the half terrible and they hit a three then we start the second half terrible with four turnovers. You can't beat a team like that with 18 turnovers when we've been averaging eight and a half a game."
On JJ N'Ganga:
"He has been banged up and hurting so he hasn't had back-to-back opportunities to practice or getting a lot of reps. Tonight was a great opportunity for him to get some live minutes and us going to him to see what we can do. I know he can do that; he is an amazing young man. He has been waiting his turn, he hasn't said anything, he has been a great teammate and then he stepped up. Ryan Johnson has been doing the same thing and he played well tonight."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 4-3 (3-1 Home)
- Davidson: 5-1 (1-0 Away)
- Mercer: at George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m.
- Davidson: at College of Charleston on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m.
How to Follow the Bears:
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.
