Mercer University
18-7, 8-4SoCon
Chattanooga
22-3, 11-1SoCon
Mercer Downed by Chattanooga in Overtime, 72-66
2/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University men's basketball team suffered its first defeat inside Hawkins Arena of the 2015-16 season on Monday evening, falling to Chattanooga by a final score of 72-66.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With under a minute to play and trailing by three, Mercer freshman guard Ethan Stair hit a three from the wing to tie the game at 59-59 and force overtime. The Bears were the first to strike in the extra session, as sophomore guard Demetre Rivers knocked down a jumper to put the Orange and Black in front 61-59.
However, the lead was short lived, as UTC scored nine of the next 10 points to go on top 68-62, a lead it would not relinquish. The Mocs hit their free throws in the closing minutes to escape Macon with a 72-66 victory.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demetre Rivers had a career night on the offensive end, tallying a personal best 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting to lead the Bears in scoring. The sophomore tied for the team high in rebounds with eight, just one shy of matching his career high set in the previous game against The Citadel (2/6). Rivers also added an assist and a steal to cap off the stellar performance.
MERCER STAT OF THE NIGHT
Redshirt junior center Andrew Fishler put on a clinic on the defensive end. The man in the middle blocked a career-best eight shots, the most by any Mercer player on the season. The eight blocks were one shy of the all-time Mercer record of nine blocks set by Calvin Henry in a game against FGCU on January 16, 2009.
NOTABLES
- Mercer fell to 11-1 at Hawkins Arena this season, as the Mocs needed overtime to hand the Bears their first home loss of the year.
- The Orange and Black dropped to 35-38 in the all-time series with Chattanooga.
- The Bears out-rebounded their opponent for the 21st time this season, posting a 42-40 advantage on the glass to slide to 16-5 in those situations in 2015-16.
- Thanks to a monumental effort from Andrew Fishler, Mercer recorded a season-high nine blocked shots in the contest.
- Despite the game going into overtime, the Bears totaled just eight turnovers over the 45 minutes of action, tied for the second fewest amount on the season.
- Mercer matched its second-highest offensive rebounding effort of the season with 19 boards on the offensive glass.
- For the second straight game, Jordan Strawberry matched his career high in assists with eight.
- Phillip Leonard shot 8-for-16 from the floor for the night to score 18 points. Monday's performance marks the 14th time this season the senior has finished in double figures.
- Stephon Jelks scored 12 points, notching his 17th double figure scoring game of the year.
RECORD UPDATE
Mercer drops to 18-7 on the season and 8-4 in SoCon play, while Chattanooga moves to 22-3 on the year and 11-1 in conference action.
UP NEXT
The Bears hit the road for a two-game trip to Wofford and Furman. The Bears face the Terriers on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. and then play the Paladins at Saturday, Feb. 13 at 4 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.
