Saturday, February 18
Charleston, S.C.
1:00 PM ET
Mercer University
13-15, 7-8SoCon
89
at
78
The Citadel
9-19, 2-13SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
50
39
89
The Citadel
36
42
78
Team Stats
MER
CIT
FG%
.508
.433
3FG%
.350
.372
FT%
.857
.800
RB
41
30
TO
13
12
STL
6
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
32
FGM
9
3FGM
5
FTM
9
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Late Run helps Mercer Put Away The Citadel
2/18/2017 3:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Rian Holland hit five 3-pointers and scored a career-high 32 points to help lead Mercer to an 89-78 win over The Citadel on Saturday, giving the Bears the season sweep over the Bulldogs.
Desmond Ringer finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Demetre Rivers added 14 points for Mercer (13-15, 7-8 Southern Conference). The Bears shot 57 percent in the first half, and 51 percent overall while holding a 41-30 edge on the glass.
Preston Parks led The Citadel (9-19, 2-13) with 24 points and Zane Najdawi added 17. The year 2017 has been particularly unkind to the Bulldogs, who have lost 10 in a row and 11 of 13 since the calendar changed.
Mercer held a 50-36 halftime lead and kept The Citadel at arm's length for much of the second half. A Najdawi 3-pointer, however, moved the Bulldogs to 79-76 with 3:43 left. After two scoreless minutes, Ringer answered with a layup, sparking an 8-0 Bears run to ice it.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland was simply masterful from the floor, scoring a career-high 32 points in a 9 for 15 (60 percent) performance from the field. If that wasn't impressive enough, Holland hit 71.4 percent (5-for-7) of his 3-point attempts and was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. The redshirt junior also tied a career-best eight rebounds and was credited with a block.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer shot 50.8 percent from the field Saturday in a 32-for-63 shooting performance. That marked the third consecutive game the Bears have eclipsed the 50 percent mark in field goal shooting.
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.
Desmond Ringer finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Demetre Rivers added 14 points for Mercer (13-15, 7-8 Southern Conference). The Bears shot 57 percent in the first half, and 51 percent overall while holding a 41-30 edge on the glass.
Preston Parks led The Citadel (9-19, 2-13) with 24 points and Zane Najdawi added 17. The year 2017 has been particularly unkind to the Bulldogs, who have lost 10 in a row and 11 of 13 since the calendar changed.
Mercer held a 50-36 halftime lead and kept The Citadel at arm's length for much of the second half. A Najdawi 3-pointer, however, moved the Bulldogs to 79-76 with 3:43 left. After two scoreless minutes, Ringer answered with a layup, sparking an 8-0 Bears run to ice it.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ria'n Holland was simply masterful from the floor, scoring a career-high 32 points in a 9 for 15 (60 percent) performance from the field. If that wasn't impressive enough, Holland hit 71.4 percent (5-for-7) of his 3-point attempts and was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. The redshirt junior also tied a career-best eight rebounds and was credited with a block.
STAT OF THE GAME
Mercer shot 50.8 percent from the field Saturday in a 32-for-63 shooting performance. That marked the third consecutive game the Bears have eclipsed the 50 percent mark in field goal shooting.
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 13-15 (7-8 SoCon)
- The Citadel: 9-19 (2-13 SoCon)
- Mercer: hosts UNCG on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- The Citadel: hosts Western Carolina on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- With the win, Mercer is now 15-4 all-time against The Citadel with a 6-1 advantage in games played in Charleston.
- The Bears have now won 13 consecutive games against The Citadel
- Bob Hoffman is now 7-0 against the Bulldogs from South Carolina
- Ria'n Holland registered career-highs with 32 points in the game and nine free throws made while matching career bests in 3-pointers made (5) and rebounds (8)
- Desmond Ringer recorded his first career double-double with 16 points scored and 10 rebounds
- Ringer's 10 rebounds ties a career high and is a season best mark
- Demetre Rivers swiped a career-high three steals
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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