Thursday, January 19
Greensboro, N.C.
7:00 PM ET
Mercer University
8-12, 2-5SoCon
66
at
68
UNCG
15-5, 6-1SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
28
38
66
UNCG
28
40
68
Team Stats
MER
UNCG
FG%
.440
.434
3FG%
.333
.364
FT%
.727
.636
RB
34
34
TO
12
12
STL
1
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Bears Fall in Heartbreaker at UNCG
1/19/2017 9:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jordan Strawberry scored 20 points and Ria'n Holland added 14 points - all of them in the second half - but Mercer fell prey to a game-winning 3-pointer as the Bears dropped a heartbreaker at UNCG, 68-66, Thursday night.
Diante Baldwin's 3-pointer with four seconds remaining lifted UNCG (15-5, 6-1 SoCon) to the win and a half-game up over second-place Chattanooga (5-1).
Marvin Smith hit a 3-pointer and after Mercer's Stephon Jelks missed two free throws, Baldwin drove to the hoop and tied the game at 64-all with 46 seconds left. Mercer lost the ball out of bounds and Baldwin hit his step-back 3-pointer from straightaway. Mercer's Demetre Rivers made two free throws and UNCG's Francis Alonso one for the final score.
Baldwin finished with 13 points. Alonso led the Spartans with 26 points, making 4 of 6 3-point attempts and 8 of 9 free throws.
A 9-0 run had left the Bears (8-12, 2-5) up nine with six minutes left and they stayed in front until the pivotal nine straight points from Smith and Baldwin.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jordan Strawberry scored 20 points in 35 minutes as he was 8 of 12 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from 3-point land. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Bears and the Spartans were even in both rebounds (34) and turnovers (12) but Mercer finished with an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"We had the game. We threw the ball away way too much at the end to finish a game like that. Then we had free throws to win. It didn't happen tonight. They had some guys step up and make big plays and we seemed like we were tentative. When we are tentative we are not very good. We have to figure out a way to get them more aggressive and finish plays at the end. "
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.
NOTABLES
Diante Baldwin's 3-pointer with four seconds remaining lifted UNCG (15-5, 6-1 SoCon) to the win and a half-game up over second-place Chattanooga (5-1).
Marvin Smith hit a 3-pointer and after Mercer's Stephon Jelks missed two free throws, Baldwin drove to the hoop and tied the game at 64-all with 46 seconds left. Mercer lost the ball out of bounds and Baldwin hit his step-back 3-pointer from straightaway. Mercer's Demetre Rivers made two free throws and UNCG's Francis Alonso one for the final score.
Baldwin finished with 13 points. Alonso led the Spartans with 26 points, making 4 of 6 3-point attempts and 8 of 9 free throws.
A 9-0 run had left the Bears (8-12, 2-5) up nine with six minutes left and they stayed in front until the pivotal nine straight points from Smith and Baldwin.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jordan Strawberry scored 20 points in 35 minutes as he was 8 of 12 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from 3-point land. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
STAT OF THE GAME
The Bears and the Spartans were even in both rebounds (34) and turnovers (12) but Mercer finished with an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"We had the game. We threw the ball away way too much at the end to finish a game like that. Then we had free throws to win. It didn't happen tonight. They had some guys step up and make big plays and we seemed like we were tentative. When we are tentative we are not very good. We have to figure out a way to get them more aggressive and finish plays at the end. "
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 8-12 (2-5 SoCon)
- UNCG: 15-5 (6-1 SoCon)
- Mercer: at Western Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. (ESPN3)
- UNCG: hosts The Citadel on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
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.
NOTABLES
- Mercer still leads the all-time series, 6-2, but the Spartans have now won two straight in the series.
- This marks the ninth game this season for Mercer that has been decided by one possession (four points or less).
- This game marked the third time in four games and the fourth time in six games that Mercer has faced a team sitting in first place in the SoCon standings.
- Jordan Strawberry scored 20 points marking his sixth career game with 20-plus points, three of which have come this season.
- Ria'n Holland finished with 14 points marking his 17th career game with double-digit points. All of his points came in the second half.
- Ria'n Holland registered a career-best seven assists and seven made free throws.
- Thursday's game marked Mercer's first loss of the season when leading with 5:00 left in regulation.
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