Tuesday, December 19
Huntsville, Ala.
9 p.m.
Mercer University
6-6
79
vs
80
Alabama
8-3
1
2
F
Mercer
35
44
79
Alabama
31
49
80
Team Stats
MER
UA
FG%
.473
.452
3FG%
.357
.214
FT%
.773
.783
RB
32
37
TO
16
13
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
24
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
9
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Mercer’s Closing Seconds Heroics Fall Short Against Alabama
12/19/2017 11:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
HUNTSVILLE, Ala.- Mercer's rally to upset Alabama fell just short Tuesday night, as the Bears dropped a hard-fought 80-79 decision to the Crimson Tide at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Trailing 80-72 with 27 seconds remaining, the Bears went on a 7-0 run and had a chance to claim the victory with one second on the clock; however, Ria'n Holland misfired on a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have given Mercer the comeback win. Demetre Rivers led Mercer with a season-high 24 points while Holland tallied 21.
Both teams started slowly on the offensive end in the opening half. However, things began to heat up late in the first stanza and the shots started falling for the Bears. Rivers' three point basket at the 4:09 mark of the first half gave Mercer a 23-22 lead. Jordan Strawberry followed that up with a three point basket of his own with 3:23 remaining in the opening stanza to keep the Bears ahead by two, 26-24. Rivers sank two free throws with 2:18 left to give the Bears their largest lead of the half, 31-26. Mercer took a 35-31 lead into the locker room, with Rivers' 10 points leading the way.
The Bears outshot the Crimson Tide in the first 20 minutes, connecting on 48.1% of their field goal attempts while Alabama hit just 36.1% of their tries. Mercer's early lead was a result of its accurate three point shooting, as the Bears knocked down six of 14 from behind the arc while the home team was just one of 16 from three point range. Mercer committed 10 first half turnovers; however, and that negated much of its superlative shooting.
Alabama opened the second half on a 9-3 run to reclaim the lead at 40-38, as the Bears turned it over three times. Mercer fought back with Rivers and Holland providing the offensive firepower, as Rivers' breakaway layup at the 11:27 mark gave Mercer a 51-46 lead. Holland's two free throws with 10:12 remaining gave Mercer its biggest lead of the evening, 56-49. Alabama then went on a 16-2 run to take a 65-58 lead. Jelks banked in a three point shot with 3:30 to go to slice the margin to 70-67.
The Crimson Tide's highly touted pair of freshmen – Collin Sexton and John Petty – turned up their play down the stretch and Alabama took what appeared to be an insurmountable 80-72 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Mercer turned in a series of heroic plays in the closing seconds to fight their way back into the game. Jelks hit a layup with 11 seconds left to close the gap to 80-74. Following an Alabama turnover, Rivers was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to make it 80-76. Mercer stole the ball again and Rivers connected on a three point basket with two seconds left. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over once again and with one second remaining, the Bears had a chance to spring the upset. Holland had a decent look at the game winner; however, his three point attempt didn't go down and Alabama escaped with the one point victory. Holland credited his coaches and teammates for setting up the final play.
"It was a very well executed play," said Holland. "We got the shot we wanted, unfortunately it didn't go down. We're proud of how we executed it under pressure."
Rivers talked about how he asked that his teammate Ethan Stair, who played at nearby Hazel Green High School, would get the starting nod in his place tonight.
"This is Ethan's hometown; it's Christmas break; he had a lot of family and friends in town that wanted to watch him play; I thought it would be good for him to have the chance to start in front of his family and friends."
Sexton led Alabama with 21 points while Petty chipped in with 18. Mercer hit 48.1% of its field goal attempts, while the Crimson Tide connected on 45.2% of their shots from the floor.
Mercer falls to 6-6 on the season while Alabama improves to 8-3.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demetre Rivers was the player of the game for the Bears, leading the team in scoring with 24 points. Rivers shot 6 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from downtown. Rivers was near perfect from the charity stripe (9 for 10).
QUOTABLES
"It was a great, amazing effort by our young men; we really wanted this win. We've come so close the last two years, multiple times, and they just keep coming back giving the kind of effort that you want. They kept believing they could win the whole way tonight. Other than a couple of spurts that Alabama had on us tonight; to play in this environment against that athletic of a team and that well-coached of a team, for us to put ourselves in a position like that, it's a real credit to our players. (on the final play at the end) "We ran a little slip play and we tried to get him (Ria'n) free; I thought the ball was going in from where I was, it was a good pass by Marcus (Cohen); it just didn't go down. With 10 seconds left, no one even thought we would have a shot to win the game. That's the kind of stuff these guys are made of and it was fun to watch them compete tonight. This was an amazing event, credit to all those who helped make it happen. This is a big time basketball city that loves hoops and we were blessed to be here. I loved how our guys competed tonight. Great game by Demetre Rivers here tonight; credit him for how he came out tonight and made some big plays and some big threes with some big finishes around the rim. He wanted Ethan Stair to start tonight before his hometown fans and what an amazing young man for him to choose to do that. (on Ethan Stair being from this area) "I love the coaches in this area and the style of ball they play around here. There is some really good basketball played here. We're fortunate to have been able to get some players from this area."--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
NOTABLES
The Bears return to action Dec. 28 when they host Kennesaw State. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is 7 p.m.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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.
###
Trailing 80-72 with 27 seconds remaining, the Bears went on a 7-0 run and had a chance to claim the victory with one second on the clock; however, Ria'n Holland misfired on a three-point attempt at the buzzer that would have given Mercer the comeback win. Demetre Rivers led Mercer with a season-high 24 points while Holland tallied 21.
Both teams started slowly on the offensive end in the opening half. However, things began to heat up late in the first stanza and the shots started falling for the Bears. Rivers' three point basket at the 4:09 mark of the first half gave Mercer a 23-22 lead. Jordan Strawberry followed that up with a three point basket of his own with 3:23 remaining in the opening stanza to keep the Bears ahead by two, 26-24. Rivers sank two free throws with 2:18 left to give the Bears their largest lead of the half, 31-26. Mercer took a 35-31 lead into the locker room, with Rivers' 10 points leading the way.
The Bears outshot the Crimson Tide in the first 20 minutes, connecting on 48.1% of their field goal attempts while Alabama hit just 36.1% of their tries. Mercer's early lead was a result of its accurate three point shooting, as the Bears knocked down six of 14 from behind the arc while the home team was just one of 16 from three point range. Mercer committed 10 first half turnovers; however, and that negated much of its superlative shooting.
Alabama opened the second half on a 9-3 run to reclaim the lead at 40-38, as the Bears turned it over three times. Mercer fought back with Rivers and Holland providing the offensive firepower, as Rivers' breakaway layup at the 11:27 mark gave Mercer a 51-46 lead. Holland's two free throws with 10:12 remaining gave Mercer its biggest lead of the evening, 56-49. Alabama then went on a 16-2 run to take a 65-58 lead. Jelks banked in a three point shot with 3:30 to go to slice the margin to 70-67.
The Crimson Tide's highly touted pair of freshmen – Collin Sexton and John Petty – turned up their play down the stretch and Alabama took what appeared to be an insurmountable 80-72 lead with 27 seconds remaining. Mercer turned in a series of heroic plays in the closing seconds to fight their way back into the game. Jelks hit a layup with 11 seconds left to close the gap to 80-74. Following an Alabama turnover, Rivers was fouled and hit a pair of free throws to make it 80-76. Mercer stole the ball again and Rivers connected on a three point basket with two seconds left. The Crimson Tide turned the ball over once again and with one second remaining, the Bears had a chance to spring the upset. Holland had a decent look at the game winner; however, his three point attempt didn't go down and Alabama escaped with the one point victory. Holland credited his coaches and teammates for setting up the final play.
"It was a very well executed play," said Holland. "We got the shot we wanted, unfortunately it didn't go down. We're proud of how we executed it under pressure."
Rivers talked about how he asked that his teammate Ethan Stair, who played at nearby Hazel Green High School, would get the starting nod in his place tonight.
"This is Ethan's hometown; it's Christmas break; he had a lot of family and friends in town that wanted to watch him play; I thought it would be good for him to have the chance to start in front of his family and friends."
Sexton led Alabama with 21 points while Petty chipped in with 18. Mercer hit 48.1% of its field goal attempts, while the Crimson Tide connected on 45.2% of their shots from the floor.
Mercer falls to 6-6 on the season while Alabama improves to 8-3.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Demetre Rivers was the player of the game for the Bears, leading the team in scoring with 24 points. Rivers shot 6 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from downtown. Rivers was near perfect from the charity stripe (9 for 10).
QUOTABLES
"It was a great, amazing effort by our young men; we really wanted this win. We've come so close the last two years, multiple times, and they just keep coming back giving the kind of effort that you want. They kept believing they could win the whole way tonight. Other than a couple of spurts that Alabama had on us tonight; to play in this environment against that athletic of a team and that well-coached of a team, for us to put ourselves in a position like that, it's a real credit to our players. (on the final play at the end) "We ran a little slip play and we tried to get him (Ria'n) free; I thought the ball was going in from where I was, it was a good pass by Marcus (Cohen); it just didn't go down. With 10 seconds left, no one even thought we would have a shot to win the game. That's the kind of stuff these guys are made of and it was fun to watch them compete tonight. This was an amazing event, credit to all those who helped make it happen. This is a big time basketball city that loves hoops and we were blessed to be here. I loved how our guys competed tonight. Great game by Demetre Rivers here tonight; credit him for how he came out tonight and made some big plays and some big threes with some big finishes around the rim. He wanted Ethan Stair to start tonight before his hometown fans and what an amazing young man for him to choose to do that. (on Ethan Stair being from this area) "I love the coaches in this area and the style of ball they play around here. There is some really good basketball played here. We're fortunate to have been able to get some players from this area."--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
NOTABLES
- Senior guard Ria'n Holland went for 21 points on the night and has now scored 20 or more points in five games this season. Holland led the team in assists on the night, dishing four.
- Senior forward Demetre Rivers scored a season-high 24 points on the night, knocking down 6 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from downtown. Rivers was near perfect from the charity stripe (9 for 10).
- Senior forward Stephon Jelks flirted with a double-double, tallying 14 points and nine rebounds.
- Sophomore forward Ethan Stair earned his fourth start on the season, as he scored six points in the first half in front of his hometown crowd.
- Twelve different players saw action for the Bears, with eight of them getting on the scoreboard.
- Mercer: 6-6
- Alabama: 8-3
The Bears return to action Dec. 28 when they host Kennesaw State. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is 7 p.m.
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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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