Wednesday, January 10
Cullowhee, N.C.
7 p.m.
Mercer University
7-9, 0-3SoCon
56
at
58
Western Carolina
7-9, 3-1SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
28
28
56
Western Carolina
28
30
58
Team Stats
MER
WCU
FG%
.353
.396
3FG%
.238
.333
FT%
.750
.524
RB
33
41
TO
14
19
STL
12
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Bears Fall in One-Possession Game at Western Carolina Wednesday
1/10/2018 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Mercer's men's basketball team couldn't overcome a subpar shooting performance and fell 58-56 to Western Carolina Wednesday night at the Ramsey Center on the WCU campus.
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The Bears entered the game as the Southern Conference's second-leading field goal shooting team, hitting 48.2 percent of their shots; however, Mercer was able to shoot just 35.3 percent from the floor against the Catamounts and was successful on only 23.8 percent of its three-point attempts. The Bears came into the game hitting 42.4 percent of their three point tries, which was seventh best in the NCAA.
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Stephon Jelks was one Bear that had success in shooting the basketball, as the senior hit six of seven shots, including four of five from three-point land to lead Mercer with 16 points. Demetre Rivers tallied 11 points, while Ria'n Holland scored 10 points, despite missing all seven of his three-point shots. Desmond Ringer led the Bears in rebounding with 10 boards. Ethan Stair came off the bench to score eight points for the Bears. There were 18 lead changes in the game and the game was tied seven times.
Mercer had a tough time on the offensive end in the first half, connecting on just nine of 24 field goal attempts for 37.5 percent shooting. The Bears' three-point shooting was also ice cold, as they hit on just one of nine shots behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The two teams went into the locker room tied up at 28-28.
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The teams went back and forth the second half and neither team could find separation. Western Carolina's Marc Gosselin drained a three point basket with 56 seconds left to give the Catamounts a 54-50 lead. Jelks countered with a three pointer of his own with 29 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 54-53. When WCU's Desmond Johnson missed a pair of three throws with 28 seconds left, it looked like Mercer had a chance to pull ahead. Holland's misfired on a jump shot and Mercer fouled WCU's Mike Amius who sank two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to give the Catamounts a 56-53 lead. Rivers and Holland missed shots that could have cut into the lead and Mercer was forced to foul. Gosselin hit a free throw with five seconds left before Jelks nailed a three pointer with two seconds on the clock. Johnson made one of two free throws for WCU with one second left to make the final margin 58-56.
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Amius led WCU in scoring with 21 points, while Gosselin scored 11 points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Devin Peterson came off the bench to tally 12 points for the Catamounts.
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Mercer falls to 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon. Western Carolina is now 7-9 and 3-1 in conference play.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior forward Stephon Jelks was the Bears' player of the game, scoring a team-high 16 points. Jelks went 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep. Jelks also tallied four boards and three steals.
QUOTABLES
"We weren't as resilient as we need to be on the road to win against a good team. We have to be a lot more efficient than we were on the offensive end. Steph (Jelks) had a big block and some big baskets there late, but other than that in the last few minutes, we just stood around and watched. We had some opportunities to take the lead there at the end but we just didn't finish the plays. We just have to figure out how we can finish the plays and we haven't done that yet. It's frustrating for all of us to be 0-3 in conference play; that's not what we want and I understand that. These guys have fought hard; they fought hard again tonight but we just didn't get it done. We have to go back and figure out how why and what we have to do to put them in a better position at home on Saturday. We just have to keep giving great effort and believing that good things are going to happen for us." – Head Coach Bob Hoffman
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NOTABLES
The Bears return home to host Samford Saturday, Jan 13 with tipoff set for 4 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
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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The Bears entered the game as the Southern Conference's second-leading field goal shooting team, hitting 48.2 percent of their shots; however, Mercer was able to shoot just 35.3 percent from the floor against the Catamounts and was successful on only 23.8 percent of its three-point attempts. The Bears came into the game hitting 42.4 percent of their three point tries, which was seventh best in the NCAA.
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Stephon Jelks was one Bear that had success in shooting the basketball, as the senior hit six of seven shots, including four of five from three-point land to lead Mercer with 16 points. Demetre Rivers tallied 11 points, while Ria'n Holland scored 10 points, despite missing all seven of his three-point shots. Desmond Ringer led the Bears in rebounding with 10 boards. Ethan Stair came off the bench to score eight points for the Bears. There were 18 lead changes in the game and the game was tied seven times.
Mercer had a tough time on the offensive end in the first half, connecting on just nine of 24 field goal attempts for 37.5 percent shooting. The Bears' three-point shooting was also ice cold, as they hit on just one of nine shots behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes. The two teams went into the locker room tied up at 28-28.
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The teams went back and forth the second half and neither team could find separation. Western Carolina's Marc Gosselin drained a three point basket with 56 seconds left to give the Catamounts a 54-50 lead. Jelks countered with a three pointer of his own with 29 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 54-53. When WCU's Desmond Johnson missed a pair of three throws with 28 seconds left, it looked like Mercer had a chance to pull ahead. Holland's misfired on a jump shot and Mercer fouled WCU's Mike Amius who sank two free throws with 17 seconds remaining to give the Catamounts a 56-53 lead. Rivers and Holland missed shots that could have cut into the lead and Mercer was forced to foul. Gosselin hit a free throw with five seconds left before Jelks nailed a three pointer with two seconds on the clock. Johnson made one of two free throws for WCU with one second left to make the final margin 58-56.
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Amius led WCU in scoring with 21 points, while Gosselin scored 11 points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Devin Peterson came off the bench to tally 12 points for the Catamounts.
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Mercer falls to 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon. Western Carolina is now 7-9 and 3-1 in conference play.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior forward Stephon Jelks was the Bears' player of the game, scoring a team-high 16 points. Jelks went 6-of-7 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep. Jelks also tallied four boards and three steals.
QUOTABLES
"We weren't as resilient as we need to be on the road to win against a good team. We have to be a lot more efficient than we were on the offensive end. Steph (Jelks) had a big block and some big baskets there late, but other than that in the last few minutes, we just stood around and watched. We had some opportunities to take the lead there at the end but we just didn't finish the plays. We just have to figure out how we can finish the plays and we haven't done that yet. It's frustrating for all of us to be 0-3 in conference play; that's not what we want and I understand that. These guys have fought hard; they fought hard again tonight but we just didn't get it done. We have to go back and figure out how why and what we have to do to put them in a better position at home on Saturday. We just have to keep giving great effort and believing that good things are going to happen for us." – Head Coach Bob Hoffman
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NOTABLES
- Senior guard Ria'n Holland kept his streak of double-digit scoring alive, recording 10 points. Holland also snagged a game-high four steals.
- Sophomore forward Ethan Stair provided a solid spark off the bench, contributing eight points, three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 21 minutes of play.
- Senior forward Desmond Ringer grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds, while also tallying seven points, one assist and a steal.
- The Bears' bench provided 17 points in relief.
- Mercer struggled from behind the arc, shooting 23.8% (5-21) from downtown.
- Ten different players saw action for the Bears, with eight of them getting on the scoreboard.
- Mercer:Â (7-9, 0-3 SoCon)
- Western Carolina:Â (7-9, 3-1 SoCon)
The Bears return home to host Samford Saturday, Jan 13 with tipoff set for 4 p.m. at Hawkins Arena.
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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