Bears Seek Revenge at ETSU Wednesday Night

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team travels to Johnson City, Tenn., to take on the Southern Conference-leading East Tennessee State University, Wednesday, Jan. 24. Tipoff time at Freedom Hall is set for 7 p.m. (ET).

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2018 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (10-10, 3-4 SoCon) vs. ETSU (16-4, 7-0 SoCon)
Location: Johnson City, Tenn. | Freedom Hall
Live Stats: ETSUBucs.com/LiveStats
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 97.3 FM, 103.3 FM, iHeart Radio and Sports Mic – Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: ETSU leads 20-8 in the series
• Current Streak: L7
• Last Meeting: L, 74-55 in Macon (12/31/17)

BEAR NECESSITIES
About The Bucs
ETSU is 16-4 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the SoCon. The Bucs are riding a 10-game winning streak and are 9-1 at home this season, with the lone blemish being a 73-65 setback to Troy. ETSU's last loss this season was to nationally-ranked Xavier, 68-66 on the Musketeers' home court … Desonta Bradford, a 6-4 senior guard, leads ETSU in scoring with a 14-point average. Jalen McCloud, a 5-11 senior guard, is second in scoring at an 11.7 clip. Bradford also tops the club in rebounding with a 5.6 average … The Bucs have a plus-12 scoring margin, the best in the SoCon, and also lead the league in field goal percentage defense (39.8 percent). … Seven-foot center Peter Jurkin is third in the league in blocked shots (26 for 1.4 per game average) … ETSU's head coach is Steve Forbes 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 67-24.

Series History
This will be the 29th meeting between these two schools, with ETSU holding a 20-8 lead in the series. The Buccaneers have won seven straight in the series, including a 74-55 win over the Bears Dec. 31 in Macon. The first meeting between these two schools came in 1971, with the Bucs claiming a 65-58 victory at Johnson City. Mercer's last win in the series came on Feb. 28, 2015; a 69-64 verdict in Macon.

Jelks Ranks High Nationally in Offensive Efficiency
In games played through Jan. 20, Stephon Jelks is rated #22 in the nation in Offensive Efficiency according to Ken Pomeroy, a nationally acclaimed basketball statistician who produces the website Kenpom.com. Jelks has an Offensive Efficiency rating of 131.5. The Offensive Efficiency rating 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.

Bear Tracks

Mercer looks to snap a seven-game winless streak in contests vs. ETSU when the Bears take the floor Wednesday night in Johnson City.
Jelks has put together four straight double-double performances. The senior had 10 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in the win over UTC. He went for 13 points and 11 rebounds in the victory over Samford. In the Jan. 18 triumph over VMI, he tallied 13 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Against UNCG, Jelks contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds in the Bears' hard-fought 70-66 overtime loss. Jelks has five double-double performances this season. He is the team's 3rd leading scorer (10.6). He is tied for 2^nd in the league in rebounding (7.8).
Desmond Ringer is playing his best basketball of the season of late. The senior post man had a double-double of his own vs. UTC (14/10) and equaled his career-high in rebounds with 12 boards vs. Samford. Against VMI, Ringer grabbed 11 rebounds as the Bears dominated the backboards 50-31. In SoCon games only, Ringer is averaging 9.3 boards per outing, which tops the conference charts. Against Furman, Ringer equaled his career-high with 22 points on seven of eight shooting from the field and a perfect eight for eight at the free throw line.
Demetre Rivers is Mercer's 2^nd leading scorer (10.7) and is hitting a team-best 87% from the free throw stripe. 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 the Dec. 28 edition of ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays of the Day. Rivers scored 13 clutch points in the win over VMI and went for 11 points vs. UNCG.
Jordan Strawberry continues to rank among the SoCon leaders in assist/turnover ratio (2.6), which ranks 2nd in the league. Strawberry dished out seven assists in the win over Samford, handed out six assists in the victory at VMI, and passed for five assists vs. UNCG. The senior guard has 83 assists on the season (4.2 per game/4th in the league) while committing just 32 turnovers.
Ross Cummings came off the bench to score a career-high 11 points in the game at UNCG. Cummings hit three big three-point baskets to help rally the Bears and send the game into overtime.
Ethan Stair started in the place of the injured Ria'n Holland against UNCG and contributed 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
Freshman Marcus Cohen came off the bench for the ailing Strawberry against Furman and turned in a career-best 14-point performance. The Bears are receiving multiple strong contributions off the bench. Stair is averaging 6.9 points and 2.6 rebounds per outing. Cohen (4.8 ppg), Cory Kilby (3.6 ppg), and Jaylen Stowe (3.1 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 (87.0%); Holland (83.6%); Ringer (83.3%); and Strawberry (80.8%).

Holland Ranks as one of the SoCon's Best Performers
Despite being sidelined with some injuries this season, Holland has exhibited the type of play indicative of an all-conference performer. 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 at the time, the second-highest output in his Mercer career. The 6-0 product of Fayetteville, N.C., had scored a career-best 32 points last season vs. The Citadel, before eclipsing that mark with a 33-point career-high effort Dec. 17 at La Salle, a game in which he drained 10 of 19 field goal attempts, including six of nine from three point range … 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 … 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 Florida A&M … Holland played superbly in an 80-79 nail biting loss at Alabama Dec. 19, tallying 21 points. His 20 points led all scorers in the Dec. 28 triumph over Kennesaw State … In the 16 games that he has played, he leads the team in scoring (19.0), which ranks 2^nd in the SoCon and is 3^rd in the league in three point field goal percentage at 47.5%. He is the league's 3^rd leading free throw shooter (83.6%) and ranks 3^rd in the league in steals (1.7) … Holland broke out of his shooting slump in fine fashion in the win over Samford by leading all scorers with 23 points on eight of 14 shooting, including five of nine from three point range. Prior to the Samford game, the senior guard had missed his last 13 three point attempts … Holland led Mercer with 16 points vs. VMI, with 14 of those coming in the first half. He left the game early in the second half with a hand injury … Holland has scored in double figures in 43 of the 48 career games he has played at Mercer, including all 16 games this season.

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.

Bears Held in High Regard
Mercer was 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.

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.

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 10-10 on the year and were rated in the CollegeInsider.com Top 25 Mid-Major poll for the majority of the early portion of the season, while the Red Raiders of the Big 12 Conference sport a 15-4 record and have been nationally ranked most of the season.

What's Next
Mercer returns home to Macon to square off against The Citadel Saturday, Jan. 27. Tipoff for the SoCon matchup is 4 p.m. (ET) at Hawkins Arena.

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Marcus Cohen

Ross Cummings

Ria'n Holland

Stephon Jelks

Cory Kilby

Rashad Lewis

Desmond Ringer

Demetre Rivers

Ethan Stair

Jaylen Stowe

Jordan Strawberry

Footer

Mercer University Athletics