Mercer Hosts La Salle Thursday in Final Home Non-Conference Game

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team returns to Hawkins Arena to host La Salle on Thursday evening in the final home non-conference game of the season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. with the game airing on the American Sports Network (ASN).

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Thursday, Dec. 22 | 7 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (5-6) vs. La Salle (5-4)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena (3,500)
TV: ASN | Watch ESPN (Blackout restrictions apply)
TV Talent: Pete Yanity (play-by-play), Dean Keener (analyst), Megan Trammell (sideline)
Radio: Mercer Sports Network (Flagship: 97.3 FM The Bull Icons) | iHeartRadio
Radio Talent: Rick Cameron (play-by-play)
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB
Game Notes: Mercer | SoCon | La Salle
Tickets: Purchase Here

Series History
Mercer and La Salle have never met on the hardwood before.

Scouting La Salle
Thanks to an early season Big 5 schedule, La Salle has weathered a schedule almost as difficult as Mercer's and enters Thursday's game with a 5-4 mark. The Explorer's strength of schedule ranks 58th in the country (Mercer's ranks 21st, see inside for more). La Salle is 4-1 all-time against current members of the Southern Conference, last facing a SoCon team in 2003. This is La Salle's first time playing in Georgia since 1988.

Last Time Out
Heartbreaking. Gut-wrenching. Any similar synonym will work to describe Sunday's contest where T.J. Dunans hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lift Auburn to a 76-74 victory over Mercer. Dunans grabbed the inbounds pass with 1.1 seconds left and fired up the winning shot from the left corner for the Tigers (8-2).

Ria'n Holland had scored five points in the final 11 seconds to give Mercer (5-6) a 74-73 lead. Auburn fumbled away its first chance to grab the win but cashed in on the last-gasp attempt.

Coach Hoffman's Comments:
"La Salle is a storied program, won a national championship, coming here out of the Atlantic 10. We know what that division, that conference has done. They're going to have multiple teams from the league in the NCAA Tournament. They took Villanova down to the wire. They've had tremendous wins and had some tough losses just like us. So I know it's going to be an exciting game, and we're looking forward to a tough ballgame against a really good basketball team."

Honorary Member?
When Mercer hosts La Salle on Thursday it will mark the Bears' third game against an Atlantic 10 Conference member this season. That makes the A-10 the most common conference Mercer will face this season other than the Southern Conference.

Taking Care
Early this season Mercer is one of the better teams in the nation in taking care of the ball. Entering this week's games, the Bears are ranked 74th nationally and first in the Southern Conference in turnovers per game. Mercer is only giving away the ball at a rate of 12.2 per game, one of the best marks in the nation.

Top 25 Schedule - Does It Get Any Easier?
Bob Hoffman claimed before the season started that this might be Mercer's toughest schedule yet in his nine years in Macon. He might be right. Mercer's strength of schedule currently ranks 21st in the nation. Bears opponents have accumulated a record of 53-29 so far this season, a .646 winning clip.

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.

Mercer Hosts La Salle Thursday in Final Home Non-Conference Game

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Players Mentioned

Ria'n Holland

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