Mercer University
17-6, 7-3SoCon
Samford
11-12, 2-8SoCon
Mercer Offense Overpowers Samford in 85-70 Road Win
2/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Mercer University men's basketball team surpassed the 80-point mark for the second straight game in an 85-70 win over Samford in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday evening. The Bears have now won three consecutive games.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Mercer held a one-point lead with seven minutes left in the first half at 21-20 before scoring 15 of the last 23 points to take a 36-28 lead into the halftime break. The Bears were incredibly efficient in the first frame, shooting 15-for-28 from the floor (53.6 percent). The Orange and Black also outscored the Bulldogs 11-0 in points off turnovers.
Senior guard Jestin Lewis led the Mercer attack with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting. Lewis also added three steals in the opening 20 minutes. Sophomore forward Stephon Jelks also had an active first half, scoring eight points and grabbing seven rebounds.
The Bears kept the momentum going in the opening minutes of the second stanza, quickly doubling their lead to 16 points with the score 48-32 at the 15:56 mark. Samford cut the lead to single digits a number of times in the final frame but never got closer than seven points as Mercer saw the game out to pick up the crucial road Southern Conference win.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jelks notched his fourth 20-point, 10-rebound performance of the season on Monday, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds to notch his SoCon best ninth double-double of the season. The sophomore was a model of efficiency on the offensive end, finishing 9-for-12 from the floor. The Marietta, Ga., native also added three assists and one steal to complete his performance.
MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
The Bears had their best shooting night of the season at Samford, going 33-for-57 (57.9 percent) from the floor. The aforementioned Jelks and Lewis did a large portion of the damage, as the two players combined to shoot 18-for-27 for the game. Mercer also excelled from beyond the arc, finishing 8-for-16 from downtown.
NOTABLES
- The Bears are now 63-45 against the Bulldogs in the all-time series.
- The Orange and Black swept the Samford in the season series for the second straight season and is 4-0 against the Bulldogs in SoCon matchups.
- Mercer is 15-2 overall when holding opponents to opponents to 70 points or less this season.
- The Orange and Black outrebounded Samford, 34-26, marking the 19th time the Bears have recorded more boards than the opposition.
- The Orange and Black scored 23 points off of turnovers on Monday, marking the third straight contest they have scored at least 20 points in that statistical category.
- Mercer had two players finish with 20+ points in the same game for the second time this season (Lewis 26, Jelks 20).
- Lewis scored 20 or more points for the third-straight game and the sixth time this season with a game-high 26. He now has three straight 20-point contests for the first time in his Mercer career.
- Lewis also had three steals, marking the 10th contest with multiple thefts, achieving the feat in each of the past four games.
- Phillip Leonard matched his career high in assists with 10 and has recorded five or more assists in 13 contests this season.
- Jordan Strawberry scored 14 points, posting a double-digit scoring performance for the sixth time this season, four coming in league play.
- Junior center Andrew Fishler blocked a career-high three shots.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer improves to 17-6 on the season and 7-3 in SoCon play, while Samford falls to 11-12 on the year and 2-8 in conference action.
UP NEXT
The Bears return home for a pair of games in Hawkins Arena. Mercer hosts The Citadel on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 4:30 p.m. and then welcomes Chattanooga on Monday, Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m.
STAY SOCIAL
For all the latest information and up-to-the-minute updates on Mercer men's basketball, please follow the team on Twitter at @MercerMBB.
