Saturday, January 6
Greenville, S.C.
4:30 p.m.
Mercer University
7-8, 0-2SoCon
71
at
74
Furman
12-4, 3-0SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
36
35
71
Furman
37
37
74
Team Stats
MER
FUR
FG%
.509
.481
3FG%
.176
.286
FT%
.824
.640
RB
37
24
TO
16
8
STL
2
10
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Mercer’s Men Drop Hard-Fought 74-71 Decision At Furman
1/6/2018 7:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GREENVILLE, S.C.- Mercer's men's basketball team wasn't able to hold off a Furman rally over the final eight minutes of the game as the Bears were defeated 74-71 Saturday afternoon at Timmons Arena.
Leading 59-50 with 8:43 remaining in the second half, Mercer saw Furman go on an 11 point run to lift the Paladins to a 61-59 advantage. The Bears were able to tie the score twice, the final time at 63-63; however, Furman guard Daniel Fowler drained a three-pointer with 2:53 left to give the Paladins back the lead that they never relinquished.
Mercer senior Desmond Ringer turned in his second straight superlative performance, equaling his career-high with 22 points on seven of eight shooting from the field. Ringer was also a perfect eight for eight at the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds on the afternoon.
Freshman Marcus Cohen came off the bench for an ailing Jordan Strawberry to tally a career-best 14 points, while senior Demetre Rivers went for 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Senior guard Ria'n Holland, who entered the game as the Southern Conference's second leading scorer with a 21 point average, was held to 11 points on four of 13 shooting. Holland also had seven boards.
Mercer's inability to hit the three-point shot proved to be detrimental to its chances. The Bears came into the game hitting 43.7% from three-point range, which was second best in the SoCon and fourth best nationally. Against Furman, the Bears were able to connect on only three of 17 shots behind the arc, include 0-8 in the second half. Holland entered the game as the NCAA's leading three-point field goal percentage shooter at 58.2% but went 0-6 against the Paladins.
Furman got off to a fast start in the first half, as the Paladins jumped out to seven point leads on three different occasions. Trailing 26-22 at the 7:02 mark, Mercer went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a 30-26 advantage. Furman closed the gap late in the opening stanza and took a 37-36 lead into the locker room. Ringer and Rivers led the way for the Bears in the first half, scoring 10 points each.
Mercer came out strong the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Paladins 7-1 to claim a 44-39 lead with 17:50 remaining. Ringer's strong offensive showing helped power the Bears to maintain the momentum, as the 6-8 senior tallied 10 points over the first 10 minutes of the final half. Ross Cummings' follow shot at the 11:07 mark pushed Mercer's lead to seven at 55-48. The Bears were up 59-50 before Furman turned up the heat and went on an 11-0 run of its own to take a 61-59 lead at the 5:44 mark.
Furman had five players hit for double figures in scoring, led by Fowler's 21. Matt Rafferty (12), Jordan Lyons (12), Devin Sibley (11), and John Davis (10) also tallied in double digits for the Paladins.
Mercer won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the home team 37-24. Strawberry, the team leader in assists, only played four minutes early in the game and sat out the remainder of the contest with an illness.
The Bears fall to 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon. Furman improves to 12-4 and 3-0 in the conference.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Freshman guard Marcus Cohen was the player of the game for the Bears scoring a career-high 14 points on 7 for 11 from the field off the bench. Cohen also dished two dimes on the day.
QUOTABLES
"Our guys competed every step of the way and fought with everything they had. Furman found a way to get three offensive rebounds on one possession that ended up getting them a three point basket that helped give them some momentum. We put ourselves in a position; we just have to find a way to close. We were hoping to get some post touches; what we didn't plan on was Jordan (Strawberry) getting sick. He practiced yesterday, but you have to deal with those kind of things. I thought we had multiple people step up and make some plays for us. Furman made the plays to win the game and we had opportunities to do the same but I didn't put our guys into the positions that they needed to be in order to be successful. We're going to keep working hard; I love the way we competed today; I loved our energy and our bench. I loved everything about it but the result. (On Marcus Cohen's contributions off the bench): "He's a competitor; he got into the moment. There were multiple times that he got to the rim. He's good at transition and in the open court; that's what he's good at. I'm glad he's on our team and I know he's going to continue to get better."--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
NOTABLES
Mercer continues league play by traveling to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts Wednesday, Jan. 10. Start time is 7 p.m. (ET).
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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Leading 59-50 with 8:43 remaining in the second half, Mercer saw Furman go on an 11 point run to lift the Paladins to a 61-59 advantage. The Bears were able to tie the score twice, the final time at 63-63; however, Furman guard Daniel Fowler drained a three-pointer with 2:53 left to give the Paladins back the lead that they never relinquished.
Mercer senior Desmond Ringer turned in his second straight superlative performance, equaling his career-high with 22 points on seven of eight shooting from the field. Ringer was also a perfect eight for eight at the free throw line and grabbed seven rebounds on the afternoon.
Freshman Marcus Cohen came off the bench for an ailing Jordan Strawberry to tally a career-best 14 points, while senior Demetre Rivers went for 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Senior guard Ria'n Holland, who entered the game as the Southern Conference's second leading scorer with a 21 point average, was held to 11 points on four of 13 shooting. Holland also had seven boards.
Mercer's inability to hit the three-point shot proved to be detrimental to its chances. The Bears came into the game hitting 43.7% from three-point range, which was second best in the SoCon and fourth best nationally. Against Furman, the Bears were able to connect on only three of 17 shots behind the arc, include 0-8 in the second half. Holland entered the game as the NCAA's leading three-point field goal percentage shooter at 58.2% but went 0-6 against the Paladins.
Furman got off to a fast start in the first half, as the Paladins jumped out to seven point leads on three different occasions. Trailing 26-22 at the 7:02 mark, Mercer went on an 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab a 30-26 advantage. Furman closed the gap late in the opening stanza and took a 37-36 lead into the locker room. Ringer and Rivers led the way for the Bears in the first half, scoring 10 points each.
Mercer came out strong the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Paladins 7-1 to claim a 44-39 lead with 17:50 remaining. Ringer's strong offensive showing helped power the Bears to maintain the momentum, as the 6-8 senior tallied 10 points over the first 10 minutes of the final half. Ross Cummings' follow shot at the 11:07 mark pushed Mercer's lead to seven at 55-48. The Bears were up 59-50 before Furman turned up the heat and went on an 11-0 run of its own to take a 61-59 lead at the 5:44 mark.
Furman had five players hit for double figures in scoring, led by Fowler's 21. Matt Rafferty (12), Jordan Lyons (12), Devin Sibley (11), and John Davis (10) also tallied in double digits for the Paladins.
Mercer won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the home team 37-24. Strawberry, the team leader in assists, only played four minutes early in the game and sat out the remainder of the contest with an illness.
The Bears fall to 7-8 overall and 0-2 in the SoCon. Furman improves to 12-4 and 3-0 in the conference.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Freshman guard Marcus Cohen was the player of the game for the Bears scoring a career-high 14 points on 7 for 11 from the field off the bench. Cohen also dished two dimes on the day.
QUOTABLES
"Our guys competed every step of the way and fought with everything they had. Furman found a way to get three offensive rebounds on one possession that ended up getting them a three point basket that helped give them some momentum. We put ourselves in a position; we just have to find a way to close. We were hoping to get some post touches; what we didn't plan on was Jordan (Strawberry) getting sick. He practiced yesterday, but you have to deal with those kind of things. I thought we had multiple people step up and make some plays for us. Furman made the plays to win the game and we had opportunities to do the same but I didn't put our guys into the positions that they needed to be in order to be successful. We're going to keep working hard; I love the way we competed today; I loved our energy and our bench. I loved everything about it but the result. (On Marcus Cohen's contributions off the bench): "He's a competitor; he got into the moment. There were multiple times that he got to the rim. He's good at transition and in the open court; that's what he's good at. I'm glad he's on our team and I know he's going to continue to get better."--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
NOTABLES
- Senior guard Ria'n Holland kept his streak of double-digit scoring alive, recording 11 points on 4 for 13 from the field. Holland also dished a season-high six assists and grabbed a season-high seven boards.
- Freshman guard Marcus Cohen provided a solid spark off the bench for the Bears scoring a career-high 14 points on 7 for 11 from the field. Cohen also dished two dimes on the day.
- Senior forward Desmond Ringer tied his career-high of 22 points, going 7 for 8 from the field and was perfect from the charity stripe (8 for 8). Ringer also grabbed seven rebounds on the day.
- Mercer out-rebounded the Paladins 37 to 24.
- The Bears' bench provided 17 points in relief.
- Mercer struggled from behind the arc, shooting a season-low 17.6% (3-17) from downtown.
- Ten different players saw action for the Bears, with seven of them getting on the scoreboard.
- Mercer: (7-8, 0-2 SoCon)
- Furman: (12-4, 3-0 SoCon)
Mercer continues league play by traveling to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts Wednesday, Jan. 10. Start time is 7 p.m. (ET).
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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