Bears Open 2017-18 Regular Season at UCF Friday Night

MACON, Ga. – Mercer will tip off the highly anticipated 2017-18 basketball season Friday evening when the Bears travel to Orlando, Fla. to face the UCF Knights in the start of head coach Bob Hoffman's tenth season with the program.

Hoffman's face will be one of the many easily recognized as his squad features twelve returning players, including six seniors.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 | 8 p.m.
Teams: Mercer (0-0) at. UCF (0-0)
Location: Orlando, Fla. | CFE Arena
TV: ESPN3 | Watch ESPN
TV Talent: Ari Shanok (play by play), Mike O'Donnell (analyst)
Live Stats: UCFKnights.com/livestats
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB
Game Notes: Mercer Game Notes

BEAR NECESSITIES
For Openers
Under Coach Bob Hoffman, Mercer is 8-1 in season openers. During Coach Hoffman's tenure, the Bears are 7-0 in home openers, 1-0 in neutral site openers, and 0-1 in road opening contests. The last time Mercer lost a season opening game was the lid-lifter of the 2013-14 season, when the Bears dropped a 76-73 decision at Texas.

Returning Firepower
Mercer returns all five starters from last season's club. Those five starters – Ria'n Holland, Jordan Strawberry, Demetre Rivers, Desmond Ringer, and Stephon Jelks – combined to score a total of 1,744 of the team's 2,269 points on the season. That translates to nearly 77% of the Bears' offensive output from last year. In total, nine players are back from the 2016-17 team.

Senior Leadership
Six seniors return from last year's team. Those senior leaders include: Desmond Ringer, Jordan Strawberry, Ria'n Holland, Demetre Rivers, Rashad Lewis, and Stephon Jelks. Holland is the team's leading returning scorer at 17.2 points per game; Jelks paced the club with 6.7 rebounds per outing; while Strawberry dished out a team-best 4.3 assists per contest.

Bears Held in High Regard
Mercer has been tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Southern Conference men's championship by the league's head coaches. The Bears were narrow favorites to claim the SoCon crown, tallying four first-place votes and 71 total points with Samford a close runner-up, earning three first-place votes and 70 total points.

Mid-Major Respect
Under Coach Hoffman, the Bears have earned national respect as being one of the premier mid-major programs. Mercer has received preseason recognition in two mid-major power rankings. In NBC Sports' preseason power rankings, Mercer was tabbed as the No.13 mid-major team heading into this season. In CollegeInsider.com's rankings, the Bears were selected as the No. 15 mid-major ball club. With Coach Hoffman at the helm, the Bears have notched 10 NCAA power conference wins, including a thrilling 78-71 victory over No. 6 Duke in the second round of the 2014 NCAA Championship Tournament. Here is a listing of Mercer's NCAA power conference victories during the Coach Hoffman era:

Power Conference Wins
Mercer 69, Arkansas 66 – December 19, 2015 – Fayetteville, Arkansas
Mercer 78, Duke 71 – March 21, 2014 – Raleigh, North Carolina
Mercer 79, Ole Miss 76 – December 22, 2013 – Oxford, Mississippi
Mercer 77, Seton Hall 74 – November 16, 2013 – Macon, Georgia
Mercer 75, Tennessee 67 – March 20, 2013 – Knoxville, Tennessee
Mercer 66, Alabama 59 – December 22, 2012 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Mercer 61, Florida State 56 – December 2, 2012 – Tallahassee, Florida
Mercer 65, Georgia Tech 59 – December 22, 2010 – Atlanta, Georgia
Mercer 78, Auburn 74 – November 19, 2008 – Auburn, Alabama
Mercer 72, Alabama 69 – November 16, 2008 – Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Holland Earns Preseason Honors
Senior guard Ria'n Holland has received some worthy preseason recognition. The Fayetteville, N.C., native was chosen to the 2017-18 preseason All-Southern Conference team as selected by the league's coaches. The 6-0 Holland has also been named to the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by CollegeInsider.com. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top NCAA Division 1 mid-major player. Holland topped the Bears in scoring (17.2 ppg), three point goals made (77); and minutes played (31.5) last season.

Successful Hurricane Relief Exhibition
Mercer defeated Troy 77-73 Nov. 5 in an exhibition game played at Hawkins Arena to benefit the Salvation Army and its hurricane relief efforts. Three Bears scored in double figures, led by Holland's 20 points. He was followed in scoring by Ringer (13) and sophomore forward Ethan Stair, who came off the bench to contribute 13 points. In that exhibition game, the Bears outrebounded the Trojans 39-28, with Ringer and Jelks leading the way with seven caroms each. Troy won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship last season and advanced to the NCAA Championship Tournament.

Scouting the Opponent
Friday's season opening opponent – the Central Florida Knights – is coming off one of the program's most successful seasons. In Coach Johnny Dawkins' maiden campaign at the helm, the Knights posted a 24-12 record, tying their second most single-season victory total in the program's Division 1 history. UCF advanced all the way to the Final Four of the National Invitation Tournament, defeating Colorado, Illinois State, and Illinois before losing to eventual champion Texas Christian in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Mercer and UCF have a long history on the hardwood, with the two teams meeting 25 times as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference from 1993-2005. This will be the first meeting between the two teams since 2005, when UCF bested Mercer 81-68 in the conference tournament. The Bears' last win in the series came in January, 2005 when they won 80-71. UCF leads the overall series 17-13 and has won the past two meetings. In Orlando, the series is knotted at 7-7. This will be Mercer's first meeting against the Knights during the Coach Hoffman era.

How to Follow the Bears:
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.

Bears Open 2017-18 Regular Season at UCF Friday Night

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Players Mentioned

Ria'n Holland

Stephon Jelks

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Demetre Rivers

Ethan Stair

Jordan Strawberry

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