Wednesday, January 11
Birmingham, Ala.
8:00 PM ET
Mercer University
8-10, 2-3SoCon
68
at
65
Samford
12-6, 3-2SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
30
38
68
Samford
31
34
65
Team Stats
MER
SAM
FG%
.393
.340
3FG%
.560
.333
FT%
.769
.917
RB
43
30
TO
14
9
STL
2
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
2
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Hot-Shooting Mercer Holds on for 68-65 Win at Samford
1/11/2017 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mercer tied a season-high 14 3-pointers and Stephon Jelks notched a double-double as Mercer held on for a 68-65 win at Samford Wednesday night.
Jelks was 4 of 12 from the field including four 3-pointers for the Bears (8-10, 2-3 Southern Conference). Demetre Rivers added 13 points and five rebounds, Jordan Strawberry had 12 points and four rebounds and Ria'n Holland chipped in 11 points.
The Bears trailed 31-30 at the break and the teams battled back-and-forth in the second until Jelks sank a 3-pointer that gave the Bears the lead for good, 61-59, with 5:04 to play. A pair of free throws by Wyatt Walker brought Samford to within one, 66-65, with six seconds to play but Rashad Lewis replied for Mercer with two foul shots of his own and Samford's Christen Cunningham missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Walker scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (12-6, 3-2).
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Stephon Jelks gets the nod after notching the first double-double of any Bear this season. All four of his field goals were from beyond the arc and he was all over the floor with 11 rebounds to his credit. Jelks added an assist and was 2-for-2 from the line.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer tied a season-high 14 3-pointers in the game but the most impressive mark was the Bears were 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the second half.
STAT OF THE GAME – PART II
Samford was undefeated this season when leading at the half – until now. The Bulldogs held a one-point lead going into halftime but Mercer outscored Samford in the second half, 38-34.
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.
Jelks was 4 of 12 from the field including four 3-pointers for the Bears (8-10, 2-3 Southern Conference). Demetre Rivers added 13 points and five rebounds, Jordan Strawberry had 12 points and four rebounds and Ria'n Holland chipped in 11 points.
The Bears trailed 31-30 at the break and the teams battled back-and-forth in the second until Jelks sank a 3-pointer that gave the Bears the lead for good, 61-59, with 5:04 to play. A pair of free throws by Wyatt Walker brought Samford to within one, 66-65, with six seconds to play but Rashad Lewis replied for Mercer with two foul shots of his own and Samford's Christen Cunningham missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Walker scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (12-6, 3-2).
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Stephon Jelks gets the nod after notching the first double-double of any Bear this season. All four of his field goals were from beyond the arc and he was all over the floor with 11 rebounds to his credit. Jelks added an assist and was 2-for-2 from the line.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer tied a season-high 14 3-pointers in the game but the most impressive mark was the Bears were 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from beyond the arc in the second half.
STAT OF THE GAME – PART II
Samford was undefeated this season when leading at the half – until now. The Bulldogs held a one-point lead going into halftime but Mercer outscored Samford in the second half, 38-34.
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 8-10 (2-3 SoCon)
- Samford: 12-6 (3-2 SoCon)
- Mercer: hosts Chattanooga on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2 p.m. (ASN)
- Samford: hosts The Citadel on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT (ESPN3)
- Mercer is now 64-45 all-time against Samford and has won six consecutive contests in the series.
- The double-double by Stephon Jelks (14 points, 11 rebounds) marked the first double-double of the season for any Mercer player.
- The 14 3-pointers made by Mercer tied a season high (Mercer hit 14 3-pointers at Kennesaw State on Dec. 28, 2016).
- The win brought Mercer's record to 2-7 this year when trailing at the half.
- The Bears are now 7-0 this season when leading with five minutes left.
- Wednesday's game marked the first time since the team's win over Oglethorpe (Dec. 7, 2016) that Mercer had four different players in double-digit scoring.
- Rashad Lewis tied a career-high eight assists.
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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