Mercer Concludes Rocky Top Road Trip at Memphis Saturday

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team will conclude their two-game road swing when they face the Memphis Tigers this Saturday, Dec. 2, at the FedEx Forum. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. CT.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 | 4 p.m. CT
Teams: Mercer (5-3) vs. Memphis (3-2)
Location: Memphis, Tenn. | FedEx Forum
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 97.3 FM, 103.3 FM, iHeart Radio and Sports Mic – Rick Cameron
Live Stats: GoTigersGo.com/LiveStats
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Memphis leads, 2-0
• In Memphis: Memphis leads, 2-0
• In Macon: N/A
• Neutral Sites: N/A
• Current Streak: Memphis has won two straight
• Last Meeting: Memphis won, 99-48, during the 1990-91 campaign.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Last Time Out
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- Mercer fell behind early and competed hard but was never able to close the gap as the Bears dropped an 84-60 decision to a top-flight Tennessee team Wednesday night in Knoxville.

Playing without leading scorer Ria'n Holland, who missed his second consecutive game due to an injury, the Bears started slowly, falling behind 18-4 to start the game. Tennessee's offense was clicking on all cylinders early on, as the Volunteers shot a blazing 65.4% in the opening half, while Mercer was held to just 31.8 % shooting. UT took a commanding 46-27 lead into the locker room at the intermission.

Mercer's offense performed better in the second half, as the Bears connected on 43.5% of their field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the deficit that they found themselves facing. Tennessee shot a solid 55.6 % from the floor for the game and handed out 26 assists while committing only 11 turnovers.

Mercer was led in scoring by senior guard Jordan Strawberry, who scored a season-high 20 points on five of nine shooting from the field and seven of nine from the free throw line. Strawberry also grabbed four rebounds. The only other Bear to score in double figures was Ethan Stair, who got the starting nod for the second straight game due to Holland's injury. Stair contributed 11 points on four of seven shooting from the field. Mercer did win the battle of the boards, 31-23, with Demetre Rivers grabbing six rebounds.

Tennessee had three players score in double figures, led by forward Grant Williams, who went for 21 points. Guard Jordan Bowden scored 18, while Admiral Schofield came off the bench to contribute 10. Starting guard James Daniel dished out a game-high 10 assists for the Vols.

Mercer Maintains Mid-Major Ranking
For the third consecutive week, Mercer is ranked No. 16 in the latest edition of the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll.

The Bears, currently 5-3 on the season, are finishing up a challenging two-game road swing through the state of Tennessee. Mercer dropped an 84-60 decision Wednesday night at Tennessee and will square off against perennial power Memphis this Saturday, Dec. 2 on the Tigers' home floor.

Mercer continues to be the highest ranked Southern Conference team in this week's poll. SoCon rival Furman is ranked No. 21.

For the third straight week Gonzaga, who finished runner-up to NCAA Champion North Carolina in last year's national tournament, is ranked first in this week's poll, accumulating 30 of the 31 first place votes. St. Mary's, ranked third, received the other first place vote. Vermont is No. 2; UT Arlington is ranked 4^th; and Albany is rated 5^th.

The Collegeinsider.com poll consists of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, and Western Athletic.

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.

Coach Hoffman-Led Bears Own 10 Power Conference Wins
Under Head Coach Bob Hoffman's leadership, Mercer has posted some impressive victories over power conference programs. The Bears' most celebrated power conference victory came against No. 6 Duke in the NCAA Championship Tournament, when Mercer knocked off the Blue Devils 78-71 on March 21, 2014 in Raleigh, N.C. Most recently on this win list, Mercer defeated Arkansas 69-66 on Dec. 19, 2015 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Here's a complete list of Mercer's power conference wins under Coach Hoffman:

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 Continues Hot Start
Senior guard Ria'n Holland is off to a fast start for the Bears and ranks near the top in several Southern Conference statistical categories. Through six games, he leads the team in scoring (20.2); three point shooting (21-37 for 56%) and free throw shooting (28-29 for 96%). Holland was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance in the team's opening two games. Holland is the second leading scorer in the Southern Conference (20.2); second in free throw shooting percentage (96.6%); fourth in three point shooting percentage (56.8%) and second in three point shots made per game (3.5). He went for 31 points in the 88-79 loss at Central Florida and then came back with a 16-point effort in the victory over Toccoa Falls. That 31-point effort vs. UCF was the second-highest output in his Mercer career. The 6-0 product of Fayetteville, N.C., scored a career-best 32 points last season vs. The Citadel. Holland was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team as he averaged 18.3 points during the three-game stretch, including a 29-point effort in the victory over Drexel. Holland has scored in double figures in 33 of the 38 career games he has played at Mercer. Holland has missed the last two games with an injury and his status is considered to be day-to-day.

This and That
Jordan Strawberry turned in a solid performance in Wednesday's game at Tennessee. The senior guard tallied a season-high 20 points on five of nine shooting from the field and seven of nine from the free throw line. Strawberry was three of five from three point range vs. the Vols. He is Mercer's second leading scorer on the season, averaging 10.1 points per contest and leads the club in assists with 4.1 per outing … Ethan Stair has made the most of his two starting roles filling in for the injured Ria'n Holland. The sophomore led the Bears to a win over Hiwassee earlier this week with 15 points, six assists, and five rebounds. The 15 points equaled the sophomore's career high. Stair scored 11 points in the game against Tennessee. He is the team's fourth leading scorer at 8.4 points per game and is shooting 60% from the field and 57.1% from three point range … Demetre Rivers is Mercer's third leading scorer averaging 9.5 points per contest while shooting 51 % from the floor and 94.4 % from the charity stripe … The Bears are outrebounding their opponents 34.4 – 29.1 per contest … Mercer is shooting a solid 42.3% from three-point range … The Bears hold a sizeable margin over their opponents in scoring points off of turnovers per game – 19.5/14.0 … Mercer is shooting a solid 73.5% from the free throw line, with Holland (96.6%) and Rivers (94.4%) leading the way. Those two have combined to hit 45 of 47 free throws on the season for an incredible 95.7% … Junior Cory Kilby (14) and freshman Marcus Cohen (10) also posted career high point totals in Sunday's victory over Hiwassee.

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.

Speaking of Seniors
Mercer is one of only two teams in the nation to start five seniors this season, with Texas Tech being the other. The Bears are currently 5-3 on the year and rated No. 16 in this week's edition of the Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major poll, while the Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference sport a 6-0 record and are ranked No. 22 in the latest Associated Press poll.

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.

Preseason Watch List
Holland was named to the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch List, as announced by CollegeInsider.com earlier this month. The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the nation's top NCAA Division I mid-major player. Holland is one of 51 mid-major players included on the preseason watch list. The award is named after Lou Henson, who coached college basketball for 41 years and was sixth all-time in career Division I wins (779) when he left the game in 2005. Holland is one of four players from SoCon teams included on the watch list. Players on teams from the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro-Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt and West Coast. The winner of the 2017-18 Lou Henson Award will be announced on March 31, 2018 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Event in San Antonio, Texas, the site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

Holland was also named to the preseason All-Southern Conference team as selected by the league's coaches prior to the start of this year.

Series History
Saturday's game will be the third meeting between Mercer and Memphis with the Tigers leading the series 2-0. Both games have come on Memphis' home court, with the Tigers winning 80-52 during the 1974-75 season and 99-48 during the 1990-91 campaign.

About The Tigers
Memphis is 3-2 on the season and is a member of the American Athletic Conference. The Tigers are led in scoring by Jeremiah Martin. Kyvon Davenport is Memphis' leading rebounder.

Tubby Smith, one of the most successful coaches of this era, is in his second season leading the Memphis program. Coach Smith has had an amazing run during his career, with successful stops at Texas Tech, Minnesota, Kentucky, Georgia, and Tulsa. He led the Kentucky Wildcats to the 1998 NCAA Championship. Coach Smith has been named National Coach of the Year three times.

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.

Mercer Concludes Rocky Top Road Trip at Memphis Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Cohen

Ria'n Holland

Stephon Jelks

Cory Kilby

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Demetre Rivers

Ethan Stair

Jordan Strawberry

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