Saturday, January 21
Cullowhee, N.C.
2:00 PM ET
Mercer University
9-12, 3-5SoCon
70
at
50
Western Carolina
6-14, 1-6SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
43
27
70
Western Carolina
23
27
50
Team Stats
MER
WCU
FG%
.500
.314
3FG%
.458
.118
FT%
.579
.762
RB
38
27
TO
16
9
STL
2
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Holland leads Mercer to 70-50 win over Western Carolina
1/21/2017 4:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Ria'n Holland drilled 5 of 9 from beyond the arc for 23 points as Mercer bounced back from two straight defeats to dominate Western Carolina 70-50 on Saturday.
The Bears hit 11 of 24 from distance, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Western Carolina made just 2 of 17 long range attempts, and 16 of 51 (31 percent) field goals.
Mercer (9-12, 3-5 Southern Conference), which jumped out to a 43-23 halftime advantage, shot 60 percent from the floor in the opening half while limiting the Catamounts to just 36 percent shooting. The Bears were up 61-48 with 4:04 remaining in the game.
Jaylen Stowe added a career-high 10 points and Jordan Strawberry chipped in eight while dishing out ten assists for the Bears.
The Bears controlled the boards, grabbing 38 rebounds to 27 for Western Carolina (6-14, 1-6) which has lost six of its last seven games.
Haboubacar Mutombo led the Catamounts with 13 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Is it possible to think Ria'n Holland scoring 20-plus points is commonplace now? Perhaps not but it seems that way. With all due respect to Holland, this honor goes to Jaylen Stowe after the sophomore guard scored a career-high 10 points, brought down two rebounds and was credited with a steal.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer ended the game with 11 more rebounds than the Catamounts – a team that entered Saturday's action as one of the better rebounding teams in the Southern Conference. The Bears finished the game with 38 rebounds spread among 12 players with Demetre Rivers leading the way with eight.
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
The Bears hit 11 of 24 from distance, shooting 50 percent from the floor. Western Carolina made just 2 of 17 long range attempts, and 16 of 51 (31 percent) field goals.
Mercer (9-12, 3-5 Southern Conference), which jumped out to a 43-23 halftime advantage, shot 60 percent from the floor in the opening half while limiting the Catamounts to just 36 percent shooting. The Bears were up 61-48 with 4:04 remaining in the game.
Jaylen Stowe added a career-high 10 points and Jordan Strawberry chipped in eight while dishing out ten assists for the Bears.
The Bears controlled the boards, grabbing 38 rebounds to 27 for Western Carolina (6-14, 1-6) which has lost six of its last seven games.
Haboubacar Mutombo led the Catamounts with 13 points.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Is it possible to think Ria'n Holland scoring 20-plus points is commonplace now? Perhaps not but it seems that way. With all due respect to Holland, this honor goes to Jaylen Stowe after the sophomore guard scored a career-high 10 points, brought down two rebounds and was credited with a steal.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer ended the game with 11 more rebounds than the Catamounts – a team that entered Saturday's action as one of the better rebounding teams in the Southern Conference. The Bears finished the game with 38 rebounds spread among 12 players with Demetre Rivers leading the way with eight.
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 9-12 (3-5 SoCon)
- Western Carolina: 6-14 (1-6 SoCon)
- Mercer: hosts The Citadel on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 4:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
- Western Carolina: at Furman on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 7 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's win snapped a four-game winning streak in the series by Western Carolina and marked the first win over the Catamounts since the Bears joined the Southern Conference. WCU still leads the all-time series, 7-5.
- The 20-point margin marked the largest win of the season for Mercer against Division I competition.
- Jaylen Stowe scored a career-high 10 points in Saturday's contest.
- Ria'n Holland registered his ninth game this season in which he scored 20-plus points. The redshirt junior guard finished the game with 23 points.
- Mercer shot 50 percent from the field, the fourth time the Bears have shot 50 percent or better from the field.
- Two points to Mercer's tally are attributed to "TEAM" as WCU accidentally tipped in a basket for the Bears while attempting to rebound the ball.
- The win over Western Carolina marked Mercer's first win on a Saturday this season.
- Jordan Strawberry's 10 assists now gives him 288 assists in his career, ranking sixth in school history. He needs only 49 dishes to reach fifth place and match Philip Leonard's 337 career assists.
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