Saturday Tilt at George Mason Awaits Bears

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will head to Northern Virginia this week as the Bears will play in their first true road game of the season with a Saturday afternoon tilt scheduled at George Mason. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Virginia.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, December 3 | 4 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (4-3) at George Mason (5-3)
Location: Fairfax, Va. | EagleBank Arena (10,000)
TV: A-10 Network | Watch Here
TV Talent: Bill Rohland
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | George Mason
Tickets: Purchase Here

Series History
Mercer and George Mason will meet for the third time on Saturday as Mercer makes its first trip to Fairfax. Even at one win apiece in a series that is only four years old, the two teams first met at the Paradise Jam in 2012.

On the Road ~~Again~~ For the First Time
When Mercer plays at George Mason on Saturday it will mark the Bears first true road game of the season. The Nov. 13 game against Florida was played at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville in a game designated at a neutral site. And, despite having a satellite campus in Savannah and a strong #comMUnity presence by the fans, Mercer's two games over Thanksgiving weekend (East Carolina, Akron on Nov. 25-26) were also designated neutral site games.

Continuing A-10 Play?
Saturday's game at George Mason will mark the Bears' second consecutive game against a team from the Atlantic 10 Conference and mark the middle of Mercer's "A-10" schedule. The Orange and Black are coming off a game against Davidson on Tuesday and now play at George Mason. Later this month (Dec. 22) the Bears will welcome La Salle to Hawkins Arena in Macon.

Defense Looks to Return to Stifling ways
Mercer's defense has been suffocating this season and that has been problematic for opponents. The Bears, ranked 47th in the nation in field goal percentage defense entering this week's games (38.4 percent) have not allowed four out of six opponents to shoot 40 percent or better against Mercer this season.

Not Just a Mercer Thing, It's a SoCon Thing
Mercer's scoring defense is currently ranked 59th nationally as opponents are averaging just 64.6 points per game on the Bears entering this week's contests but that does not seem to be limited just to the Bears. In fact, stellar scoring defenses are prevalent around the Southern Conference as, while Mercer is ranked 59th nationally, the Bears are second in the league. Both Mercer and UNCG (59.1) are limiting opponents to under 65 points per game this season.

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.

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