Saturday, January 7
Macon, Ga.
4:30 PM ET
Mercer University
7-10, 1-3SoCon
58
vs
67
ETSU
13-3, 3-0SoCon
1
2
F
ETSU
27
40
67
Mercer
24
34
58
Team Stats
ETSU
MER
FG%
.512
.389
3FG%
.353
.240
FT%
.679
.833
RB
30
30
TO
18
17
STL
12
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
5
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Mercer Falters at Home to ETSU, 67-58
1/7/2017 6:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Ria'n Holland scored 15 of his game-high 24 points in the second half but a late run by ETSU propelled the Bucs to a 67-58 win over host Mercer Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
T.J. Cromer scored 23 points and Desonta Bradford had 15 points to lead East Tennessee State (13-3, 3-0 Southern Conference).
With the score tied at 27, Cromer hit a 3, a layup and another 3 to give East Tennessee State a 35-30 lead. The Bears then responded with a 12-0 run and led 42-35 with 11:41 to play.
Bradford's layup with 6:57 left gave East Tennessee State (13-3, 3-0 Southern Conference) the lead for good at 48-47. He followed with a dunk and Cromer added a 3 capping an 18-5 Buccaneers run.
Jordan Strawberry added a layup and Mercer (7-10, 1-3) couldn't get closer.
The Buccaneers are off to their best start since the 1990-91 season when they opened the year 14-1. ETSU won 21 of its first 23 games that season and reached No. 10 in the national rankings.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland posted his seventh game with 20-plus points. The redshirt junior led all players with 24 points but also added three assists and three steals to his tally. He was 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer drew six charges against ETSU. While drawn charges are not an official stat kept by the NCAA, that number is a season high for the Bears and contributed to the 18 turnovers Mercer forced out of ETSU.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"We got them right where we wanted them as we were up seven at the under eight-minute time out but we didn't score and turned it over at least three teams and let the layups be live-ball turnovers. You can't do that against that kind of team. Then we couldn't get shots. Ria'n [Holland] was special tonight but we couldn't get anybody else going in that stretch there to close the game. Those are the moments you have to step into and be ready for. I didn't find the right plays in the right situations. We have to do better."
"We played with enough energy and we played with enough intensity. Stephon [Jelks] and Cory Kilby were unbelievable on the glass tonight."
"Ria'n is a tough competitor. We know that and he has been that way all along. They changed their ball screen defense for us. They haven't done it very often but a couple times they were completely different tonight than they were any other game going into tonight. They did a really good job but he [Ria'n Holland] was able to find some really good opportunities in the midst of that. We just need him to continue to be like he was tonight and need other people to step up and be ready also."
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.
T.J. Cromer scored 23 points and Desonta Bradford had 15 points to lead East Tennessee State (13-3, 3-0 Southern Conference).
With the score tied at 27, Cromer hit a 3, a layup and another 3 to give East Tennessee State a 35-30 lead. The Bears then responded with a 12-0 run and led 42-35 with 11:41 to play.
Bradford's layup with 6:57 left gave East Tennessee State (13-3, 3-0 Southern Conference) the lead for good at 48-47. He followed with a dunk and Cromer added a 3 capping an 18-5 Buccaneers run.
Jordan Strawberry added a layup and Mercer (7-10, 1-3) couldn't get closer.
The Buccaneers are off to their best start since the 1990-91 season when they opened the year 14-1. ETSU won 21 of its first 23 games that season and reached No. 10 in the national rankings.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland posted his seventh game with 20-plus points. The redshirt junior led all players with 24 points but also added three assists and three steals to his tally. He was 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer drew six charges against ETSU. While drawn charges are not an official stat kept by the NCAA, that number is a season high for the Bears and contributed to the 18 turnovers Mercer forced out of ETSU.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"We got them right where we wanted them as we were up seven at the under eight-minute time out but we didn't score and turned it over at least three teams and let the layups be live-ball turnovers. You can't do that against that kind of team. Then we couldn't get shots. Ria'n [Holland] was special tonight but we couldn't get anybody else going in that stretch there to close the game. Those are the moments you have to step into and be ready for. I didn't find the right plays in the right situations. We have to do better."
"We played with enough energy and we played with enough intensity. Stephon [Jelks] and Cory Kilby were unbelievable on the glass tonight."
"Ria'n is a tough competitor. We know that and he has been that way all along. They changed their ball screen defense for us. They haven't done it very often but a couple times they were completely different tonight than they were any other game going into tonight. They did a really good job but he [Ria'n Holland] was able to find some really good opportunities in the midst of that. We just need him to continue to be like he was tonight and need other people to step up and be ready also."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 7-10 (1-3 SoCon)
- ETSU: 13-3 (3-0 SoCon)
- Mercer: at Samford on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT (ESPN3)
- ETSU: hosts UNCG on Thursday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- Cory Kilby registered a career-best seven rebounds
- Ria'n Holland scored 20-plus points for the seventh time this season
- Stephon Jelks grabbed a season-high 11 rebounds
- ETSU now leads the all-time series, 17-8, and has won four consecutive in the series
- Mercer's eight steals were a season high for the Bears
- While not an official stat, it is notable that the Bears drew six charges in the game
- This marked the fourth game a Mercer opponent shot better than 50 percent from the field
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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