Thursday, December 22
Macon, Ga.
7:00 PM ET
Mercer University
5-7
96
vs
98
La Salle
6-4
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
OT 3
F
La Salle
28
42
9
6
13
98
Mercer
32
38
9
6
11
96
Team Stats
LAS
MER
FG%
.471
.447
3FG%
.324
.480
FT%
.714
.842
RB
39
45
TO
8
9
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
31
FGM
10
3FGM
5
FTM
6
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
15
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Mercer Falls in Another Heartbreaker, 98-96 (3OT)
12/22/2016 10:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Jordan Strawberry led all scorers with a career-high 31 points, Ria'n Holland added a career-high 27 points, but Mercer fell prey to another heartbreaking loss Thursday night. This time it came at the hand of La Salle in three overtimes in a 98-96 decision in front of 3,272 at Hawkins Arena.
La Salle (6-4) had three players score at least 20 points including Pookie Powell, who nailed a 3-point jumper and added two free throws in the final overtime period. The Explorers have won two straight after dropping games to Georgetown and No. 1 Villanova. La Salle had won three consecutive previously.
Mercer (5-7) dropped its second consecutive one-possession loss and third of the year in its first triple-overtime game in two years.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
A tip of the hat to Jordan Strawberry who scored a career-high 31 points Thursday night. He was 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from the field, 5 of 8 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six assists, brought down three rebounds and was credited with two steals. And he scored eight of Mercer's nine points in the first overtime period.
STAT OF THE GAME
The contest was quite the clean game. Mercer only committed nine turnovers in 55 minutes of game time and eight of those were in the first half. That meant the Bears only committed one turnover in the final 35 minutes of play.
But as good as that was, La Salle still won the turnover battle. The Explorers only committed eight turnovers the entire triple-overtime game.
STAT OF THE GAME – PART II
The wild game, which went to three overtimes to decide a winner, was tied on 11 different occasions with the lead changing 16 teams.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"A really good team. We're not into moral victories; we lost. But I was really proud of my guys' effort, their attitude."
"I think this team is still going to be good. I still believe we're a good basketball team. We've lost some tough games, but I still believe they have a chance to be a special team before it's over."
"I told them in the locker room there's nothing saying we couldn't win 19 in a row. I mean, we're good enough to win 19 games in a row. I know our league is good. I'm not belittling anybody, but I'm saying this team is tested enough and has played in some tough places like a lot of other guys in our league, and I think this team has what it takes."
RECORDS UPDATE
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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La Salle (6-4) had three players score at least 20 points including Pookie Powell, who nailed a 3-point jumper and added two free throws in the final overtime period. The Explorers have won two straight after dropping games to Georgetown and No. 1 Villanova. La Salle had won three consecutive previously.
Mercer (5-7) dropped its second consecutive one-possession loss and third of the year in its first triple-overtime game in two years.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
A tip of the hat to Jordan Strawberry who scored a career-high 31 points Thursday night. He was 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from the field, 5 of 8 (62.5 percent) from beyond the arc and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six assists, brought down three rebounds and was credited with two steals. And he scored eight of Mercer's nine points in the first overtime period.
STAT OF THE GAME
The contest was quite the clean game. Mercer only committed nine turnovers in 55 minutes of game time and eight of those were in the first half. That meant the Bears only committed one turnover in the final 35 minutes of play.
But as good as that was, La Salle still won the turnover battle. The Explorers only committed eight turnovers the entire triple-overtime game.
STAT OF THE GAME – PART II
The wild game, which went to three overtimes to decide a winner, was tied on 11 different occasions with the lead changing 16 teams.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"A really good team. We're not into moral victories; we lost. But I was really proud of my guys' effort, their attitude."
"I think this team is still going to be good. I still believe we're a good basketball team. We've lost some tough games, but I still believe they have a chance to be a special team before it's over."
"I told them in the locker room there's nothing saying we couldn't win 19 in a row. I mean, we're good enough to win 19 games in a row. I know our league is good. I'm not belittling anybody, but I'm saying this team is tested enough and has played in some tough places like a lot of other guys in our league, and I think this team has what it takes."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: (5-7 (4-2 Home)
- La Salle: 6-4 (2-1 Away)
- Mercer: at Kennesaw State on Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- La Salle: at Dayton on Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
- Thursday's game marked the first 3OT game for Mercer since Dec. 27, 2014 at Georgia (L, 86-77)
- Mercer is now 1-4 all-time in 3OT games.
- The Bears are now 4-6 in overtime games since joining the Southern Conference.
- La Salle was held scoreless for a 5:31 stretch in the second half. They are the fifth Mercer opponent to have a scoreless streak of five minutes or more this season.
- The crowd of 3,272 marked the fourth crowd over 3,000 this season at Hawkins Arena (out of six home games). Mercer continues to lead the Southern Conference in attendance this season.
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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