Saturday, February 4
Macon, Ga.
4:30 PM ET
Mercer University
11-14, 5-7SoCon
62
vs
65
Wofford
11-13, 6-5SoCon
1
2
F
Wofford
28
37
65
Mercer
26
36
62
Team Stats
WOF
MER
FG%
.431
.358
3FG%
.500
.263
FT%
.769
.864
RB
24
41
TO
9
14
STL
8
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
11
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
9
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Bears Fall to Wofford after Late Run, Last-Second Shot
2/4/2017 7:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Mercer fell prey to ill fortune Saturday afternoon in yet another close contest as a last second 3-pointer lifted Wofford over the Bears, 65-62, in a back-and-forth game that featured 13 lead changes in front of 4,386 at Hawkins Arena in Macon.
Fletcher Magee scored 23 points with four 3-pointers, Eric Garcia's had 10 assists and hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left, and Wofford got a rare win on the road in a series that has seen the home team win over 80 percent of the time.
Mercer pulled ahead 35-30 on a 7-0 run capped by Rashad Lewis' 3-pointer, but Magee hit back-to-back 3s, Nathan Hoover hit a 3, and Wofford led 50-47. Ria'n Holland's four-point play and Desmond Ringer's dunk put Mercer up three, but Wofford tied it at 55 and 57 and 59.
Magee's jumper put the Terriers up 61-59 but Jordan Strawberry's layup for Mercer made it 62-all with 15 seconds left. Garcia hit his 3 and Mercer's Stephon Jelks missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Nathan Hoover scored all of his points on four 3-pointers for the Terriers (11-13, 6-5 Southern Conference), who have won two straight.
Holland led the Bears (11-14, 5-7) with 23 points. Jelks added 11 with 11 rebounds.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Stephon Jelks recorded his second double-double of the season as the junior forward scored 11 points and added 11 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. That helped Mercer score 14 second chance points in the game, compared to Wofford's two.
STAT OF THE GAME
Wofford shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field in the second half after an only 34.6 percent success rate in the first half. That second half success included a 60 percent (6 of 10) mark from beyond the arc.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"It's really, really hard when your guys give effort but you come up short. You have enough effort to get right there in the second half but we gave up 52 percent shooting in the second half and Thursday it was 60 percent. I'm just not doing a very good job."
"I've tried everything. We've had plenty of attempts. Thursday I tried to encourage them about possibilities of things. Today it was talking about needing more help from more people and we didn't have much help down the stretch. That all comes on me. Obviously it's not very good right now."
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.
Â
Fletcher Magee scored 23 points with four 3-pointers, Eric Garcia's had 10 assists and hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left, and Wofford got a rare win on the road in a series that has seen the home team win over 80 percent of the time.
Mercer pulled ahead 35-30 on a 7-0 run capped by Rashad Lewis' 3-pointer, but Magee hit back-to-back 3s, Nathan Hoover hit a 3, and Wofford led 50-47. Ria'n Holland's four-point play and Desmond Ringer's dunk put Mercer up three, but Wofford tied it at 55 and 57 and 59.
Magee's jumper put the Terriers up 61-59 but Jordan Strawberry's layup for Mercer made it 62-all with 15 seconds left. Garcia hit his 3 and Mercer's Stephon Jelks missed a 3 at the buzzer.
Nathan Hoover scored all of his points on four 3-pointers for the Terriers (11-13, 6-5 Southern Conference), who have won two straight.
Holland led the Bears (11-14, 5-7) with 23 points. Jelks added 11 with 11 rebounds.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Stephon Jelks recorded his second double-double of the season as the junior forward scored 11 points and added 11 rebounds, including seven offensive rebounds. That helped Mercer score 14 second chance points in the game, compared to Wofford's two.
STAT OF THE GAME
Wofford shot 52 percent (13 of 25) from the field in the second half after an only 34.6 percent success rate in the first half. That second half success included a 60 percent (6 of 10) mark from beyond the arc.
COACH HOFFMAN'S COMMENTS
"It's really, really hard when your guys give effort but you come up short. You have enough effort to get right there in the second half but we gave up 52 percent shooting in the second half and Thursday it was 60 percent. I'm just not doing a very good job."
"I've tried everything. We've had plenty of attempts. Thursday I tried to encourage them about possibilities of things. Today it was talking about needing more help from more people and we didn't have much help down the stretch. That all comes on me. Obviously it's not very good right now."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: 11-14 (5-7 SoCon)
- Wofford: 11-13 (6-5 SoCon)
- Mercer: Thursday, Feb. 9 at VMI in Lexington, Virginia at 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
- Wofford: Monday, Feb. 6 vs. East Tennessee State in Spartanburg, South Carolina at 7 p.m. (ASN)
- Wofford now leads the all-time series over Mercer, 24-19. The Terriers recorded just their fifth win in 21 tries in Macon. Wofford has now won three straight and six of the last seven in the series.
- The loss marked Mercer's 11th game this season determined by one possession (four points or less). For the Bears, 47.8 percent of their games against Division I competition this year have come down to the final shot. Mercer is 3-8 in those contests.
- Five of Mercer's last eight games have been determined by one possession.
- The attendance of 4,386 was the largest home crowd to watch a Mercer game this season and the second time the Bears have drawn over 4,000 to a home game this year.
- Stephon Jelks (11 points, 11 rebounds) registered just his second double-double of the season and the 12th of his career.
- Ria'n Holland surpassed the 20-point mark as he finished the game with 23 points. That marks the 10th time this season Holland has scored 20 points or more.
- The eight rebounds by Desmond Ringer tied a season high, a mark his has now hit four times this season.
- Jordan Strawberry recorded a career-best seven rebounds in the game.
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.
Â
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 6 vs Samford)
Monday, September 29
Mercer 38 | ETSU 34 Postgame Press Conference 9/27/25
Sunday, September 28
Mercer v. East Tennessee State Women's Soccer Highlight Reel: 9/26/2025
Saturday, September 27
Press Conference Mercer Football (Week 5 vs East Tennessee State)
Tuesday, September 23
