Bears Open Southern Conference Play Hosting ETSU on New Year’s Eve

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team opens its fourth season of competition in the Southern Conference by playing host to defending SoCon champion East Tennessee State Sunday, Dec. 31. Tipoff for the New Year's Eve tilt is set for 2 p.m. (ET) at Hawkins Arena.

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017 | 2 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (7-6) vs. ETSU (9-4)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
TV: ESPN3
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
Radio: 97.3 FM, 103.3 FM, iHeart Radio and Sports Mic – Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: ETSU leads 19-8 in the series
• Current Streak: L6
• Last Meeting: L, 73-66 in SoCon Tournament (3/4/17)

BEAR NECESSITIES
About East Tennessee State
East Tennessee State brings a 9-4 record into the conference opener. The Bucs have won seven of their last eight, with the lone loss being a close 68-66 decision at No. 6 Xavier on Dec. 16. ETSU is led in scoring by guard Desonta Bradford, who carries a 14-point scoring average into the Mercer game. Bradford is also the team's top rebounder at 6.2 boards per outing. ETSU is averaging 76.8 points while allowing 68 points per contest.

ETSU's head coach is Steve Forbes, who is in his third season at the helm. In his first two years at Johnson City, Coach Forbes has led the Bucs to 24 and 27 victories, respectively, highlighted by last year's SoCon regular season and conference tournament championships and NCAA Tournament berth. His collegiate head coaching record is an impressive 60-24.

Southern Conference Openers
Mercer is 2-1 in Southern Conference openers. The Bears defeated UNCG 76-55 on 1/3/15; beat Samford 69-50 on 1/2/16; and lost to Wofford 88-71 on 12/31/16.

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.

Bears Rank High in Southern Conference Team Statistics
Here's a look at where the Bears' rank near the top of the latest edition of the SoCon men's basketball statistics:
Team Statistics

1^st in assist/turnover ratio (1.3)
1^st in rebounding defense (30.3)
1^st in field goal% (48.7%)
1^st in 3-pt. field goal% (43.9%) – 3^rd in NCAA
2^nd in scoring margin (+12.5)
2^nd in scoring offense (80.9)
2^nd in rebounding margin (+3.8)
2nd in assists (16.5)
3^rd in free throw% (74.4%)
3^rd in field goal% defense (42.8%)
4th in scoring defense (68.5)

Individual Statistics (player must appear in at least 75% of team's games)

Ria'n Holland – 1^st in 3-pt. field goal% (59.4%) – 2^nd in NCAA
Ria'n Holland – 2^nd in scoring (21.9) – 18th in NCAA
Ria'n Holland – 2^nd in 3-pt. field goals made (3.8) – 8^th in NCAA
Ria'n Holland – 4th in free throw% (87.0%)
Stephon Jelks – 2nd in defensive rebounds (5.8)
Stephon Jelks – 3^rd in field goal% (58.5%)
Stephon Jelks – 3^rd in 3-pt. field goal% (52.8%)
Stephon Jelks – 4^th in rebounding (7.3)
Jordan Strawberry – 1st in assist/turnover ratio (3.0)
Jordan Strawberry – 3rd in assists (4.4)
Demetre Rivers – 2nd in free throw% (89.2%) – T37th in NCAA

Holland Offensive Extraordinaire
In games played through Dec. 28, Ria'n Holland is rated the #1 player in the nation in Offensive Efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy, a nationally acclaimed basketball statistician who produces the website Kenpom.com. Holland's Offensive Efficiency rating of 148.5 is based upon a formula that examines total offensive possessions and individual points produced. The four components that make up the total offensive possessions include scoring possessions, missed field goal possessions, missed free throw possessions and turnovers.

More on Holland
Holland has returned from a three-game absence due to injury with a vengeance in his last four outings vs. Florida A&M, La Salle, Alabama and Kennesaw State. The 6-0 senior went for 24 points on seven of 10 shooting from the field, including six of eight behind the three point arc in the victory over the Rattlers. In the Dec. 17 loss at La Salle, Holland scored a career-high 33 points, connecting on 10 of 19 field goal attempts, including six of nine from three point range. Holland played superbly in an 80-79 nail biting loss at Alabama Dec. 19, tallying 21 points. His 20 points led all scorers in last Thursday's triumph over Kennesaw State In the 10 games that he has played, he leads the team in scoring (21.9), which ranks 2^nd in the SoCon and 18th in the NCAA, and 2^nd in free throw shooting (47-54 for 87.0%). He is shooting a sizzling 59.4% from three point land (38-64), which is 2^nd best in the NCAA. Holland was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for his performance in the team's opening two games. 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, before eclipsing that mark with a 33-point effort earlier this season vs. La Salle. 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 37 of the 42 career games he has played at Mercer.

This and That
Mercer continues to rank among the nation's leaders in three point marksmanship. The Bears are 2^nd in the SoCon in three-point shooting % (43.9%), which ranks 3rd in the NCAA … Mercer shot a season-best 60.3% from the field in the Bears' win over Kennesaw State. Mercer broke open a fairly close contest by hitting a blazing 72.4% of its field goal attempts in the second half of that contest. The Bears are hitting a SoCon best 48.7% from the floor and that accuracy ranks 45^th nationally … Demetre Rivers is playing his best basketball of the season the past couple of outings. Rivers tallied a season-high 24 points vs. Alabama. In that contest, the senior connected on six of eight field goal attempts, including three of four behind the arc, and nailed nine of 10 free throw attempts. Rivers helped ignite a furious rally for the Bears down the stretch, scoring five points in the closing seconds to almost lead Mercer to the upset win over the Crimson Tide. Rivers tallied 11 points in the victory vs. Kennesaw State and his spectacular shot block that landed up in the stands earned the #2 rating on Thursday night's ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Day. Rivers is the team's leading free throw shooter (89.2%), which ranks 2^nd in the SoCon and is tied for 37th nationally … Stephon Jelks turned in a season-high 22 point effort vs. La Salle. In that contest, the 6-7 senior was seven of eight from the floor, including three of four behind the arc, and a perfect five for five from the charity stripe. Jelks flirted with a triple-double in the win over Florida A&M, scoring 12 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out seven assists in that contest. Jelks leads the club in rebounding (7.3), which ranks 4^th in the SoCon and is the Bears' 2nd leading scorer (10.5). He also has been extremely accurate scoring the basketball, hitting 58.5% of his field goal attempts (best on the team and 3^rd best in the SoCon) and hitting 87.5% of his charity tosses. Jelks is knocking down 52.8% of his three point tries, which ranks 3rd in the Southern Conference … Jordan Strawberry continues to pace the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio (3.0). The senior guard has dished out 57 assists (4.4 per game/3^rd in the league) while committing just 19 turnovers. Strawberry played an extremely efficient floor game in the win over Kennesaw State, handing out seven assists with no turnovers. He is also Mercer's 4^th leading scorer with a 9.4 per game average … Senior Desmond Ringer is coming off a solid showing vs. Kennesaw State, a game in which he tallied 10 points on four of six shooting from the field. Ringer is averaging 6.9 points per game and is shooting 80.0% from the free throw line … The Bears are receiving strong contributions off the bench. Ethan Stair is averaging 8.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per outing. Freshman Marcus Cohen (5.2 ppg), Cory Kilby (4.5 ppg), and Jaylen Stowe (3.5 ppg) are all averaging 13 or more minutes of playing time per contest. Kilby came off the bench to contribute 11 points vs. Kennesaw State … Mercer has four players hitting 80% or better from the free throw line, including Rivers (89.2%); Jelks (87.5%); Holland (87.0%); and Ringer (80.0%).

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 7-6 on the year and have been rated in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major poll for the majority of the season, while the Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference sport an 11-1 and are currently ranked No. 22 in this week's 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 season. 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.

Coach Hoffman Closing In On 500 Victories
Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman has certainly achieved a great deal of success during his coaching career and he is closing in on a milestone that will only add to his list of superlative accomplishments. Coach Hoffman heads into Sunday's conference opener against ETSU with 497 victories at the collegiate men's level, just three shy of 500. Coach Hoffman accumulated 243 wins as the head coach at Oklahoma Baptist from 1990-99; 68 victories while at Texas Pan-American (1999-2004); and he has won 186 games as Mercer's head coach (2008-present). Coach Hoffman has led Mercer to unprecedented success during his tenure with the Bears. The two-time Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year has directed Mercer to 18 post-season victories and 10 power conference wins. Twice the Bears have won a school-record 27 games (2011-12 and 2013-14) under his leadership.

Series History
This will be the 28th meeting between these two schools, with ETSU holding a 19-8 lead in the series. The first meeting came in 1971, with the Buccaneers claiming a 65-58 victory in Johnson City. ETSU has won six straight in the series, including a 73-66 triumph that ended Mercer's campaign a year ago in the Southern Conference Tournament. Mercer's last victory over ETSU came on 2/28/15; a 69-64 verdict in Macon.

What's Next
Mercer continues SoCon action by traveling to Greenville, S.C., to face the Furman Paladins on Saturday, Jan. 6. Tipoff time is set for 4:30 p.m. (ET).

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.

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Bears Open Southern Conference Play Hosting ETSU on New Year’s Eve

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Players Mentioned

Marcus Cohen

Ria'n Holland

Stephon Jelks

Cory Kilby

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Demetre Rivers

Ethan Stair

Jaylen Stowe

Jordan Strawberry

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Mercer University Athletics

Bears Open Southern Conference Play Hosting ETSU on New Year’s Eve

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Cohen

Ria'n Holland

Stephon Jelks

Cory Kilby

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Demetre Rivers

Ethan Stair

Jaylen Stowe

Jordan Strawberry

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