Saturday, January 14
Macon, Ga.
2 PM ET
Mercer University
8-11, 2-4SoCon
68
vs
70
Chattanooga
14-4, 5-1SoCon
1
2
F
Chattanooga
34
36
70
Mercer
38
30
68
Team Stats
UTC
MER
FG%
.444
.490
3FG%
.348
.118
FT%
.737
.941
RB
30
29
TO
13
13
STL
8
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Drops Nail-Biter to Chattanooga, 70-68
1/14/2017 4:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer shot a scorching 58.6 percent from the field in the first half and Ria'n Holland scored a game-high 22 points, but the Bears fell to Chattanooga, 70-68, in a back-and-forth contest Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
With 10 seconds remaining Holland had a potential game-tying three-point attempt blocked by Chattanooga's Justin Tuoyo. The block led to an eventual made free throw by Rodney Chatman that sealed the game at 70-66 before Stephon Jelks made a layup as time expired.
Mercer (8-11, 2-4 Southern Conference) led 38-34 at halftime and scored 32 points in the paint of the visiting Mocs, who improved to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in league play.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland was impressive and this doesn't diminish his 22 points but credit to Desmond Ringer today as he scored 10 points and registered seven rebounds while also being credited with a blocked shot.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer was a season-best 94.1 percent from the free throw line and the 17 free throws attempted were the most in the last six games.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"That they played really hard, gave unbelievable effort and I needed to help them down the stretch, find one more play to get it done. They wanted to win. They were destroyed, as they have been many times. They are trying really hard and played against a really good team that knows what they are trying to accomplish on every possession. We weren't able to get it done at the end."
"Our energy was good enough to win, but we didn't win. It was good enough to win. We were there, right there. We just needed to get one more rebound or one more stop, which is all we needed. We know we can compete with them, we know we can compete with everyone in the league, but we were not able to finish. You look at our record and you do not think we can because of our record is but it is a long season. The season is not over and there is still hope. When we get these guys together on Monday – this is going to hurt all weekend – but Monday we get together and we have to play another number one team in the league. I don't know how that happens but that is what we are going to do on Thursday night."
On Desmond Ringer's performance:
"He played against – potentially – the player of the year in the league … Desmond took the challenge and he was ready for the challenge."
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.
With 10 seconds remaining Holland had a potential game-tying three-point attempt blocked by Chattanooga's Justin Tuoyo. The block led to an eventual made free throw by Rodney Chatman that sealed the game at 70-66 before Stephon Jelks made a layup as time expired.
Mercer (8-11, 2-4 Southern Conference) led 38-34 at halftime and scored 32 points in the paint of the visiting Mocs, who improved to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in league play.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland was impressive and this doesn't diminish his 22 points but credit to Desmond Ringer today as he scored 10 points and registered seven rebounds while also being credited with a blocked shot.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer was a season-best 94.1 percent from the free throw line and the 17 free throws attempted were the most in the last six games.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"That they played really hard, gave unbelievable effort and I needed to help them down the stretch, find one more play to get it done. They wanted to win. They were destroyed, as they have been many times. They are trying really hard and played against a really good team that knows what they are trying to accomplish on every possession. We weren't able to get it done at the end."
"Our energy was good enough to win, but we didn't win. It was good enough to win. We were there, right there. We just needed to get one more rebound or one more stop, which is all we needed. We know we can compete with them, we know we can compete with everyone in the league, but we were not able to finish. You look at our record and you do not think we can because of our record is but it is a long season. The season is not over and there is still hope. When we get these guys together on Monday – this is going to hurt all weekend – but Monday we get together and we have to play another number one team in the league. I don't know how that happens but that is what we are going to do on Thursday night."
On Desmond Ringer's performance:
"He played against – potentially – the player of the year in the league … Desmond took the challenge and he was ready for the challenge."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 8-11 (2-4 SoCon)
- Chattanooga: 14-4 (5-1 SoCon)
- Mercer: at UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- Chattanooga: hosts Samford on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m.
- Mercer leads the all-time series against Chattanooga, 34-32, but the Mocs have now won four straight in the series.
- Ria'n Holland recorded his eighth game this season with 20-plus points.
- Saturday's contest marked the eighth one-possession game this season for Mercer. The Bears are 3-5 in those contests.
- After playing the SoCon's first place team on Jan. 7 (ETSU) then hosting the league's first place team (Chattanooga) today, Mercer now turns its attention to the SoCon's first place team (at UNCG) in its next contest on Jan. 19.
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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