Mercer Entertains UT Martin Friday Night At Hawkins Arena

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team returns home to Hawkins Arena to play host to the University of Tennessee at Martin Friday, Nov. 16 with tipoff time set for 7 p.m. (ET).

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Friday, Nov. 16, 2018 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (1-2, 0-0 SoCon) vs. UT Martin (1-1, 0-0 OVC)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
TV: ESPN3
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the first meeting between Mercer and UT Martin.

BEAR NECESSITIES
QUICK RECAP
Mercer nearly erased a 19-point second half deficit Nov. 13 before losing a hard-fought 62-60 decision at Georgia State. Trailing 55-36 with 9:57 remaining, Mercer ended the game on a 24-7 run and had a chance to take the lead on its final possession but junior guard Djordje Dimitrijevic misfired on a three-pointer with four seconds remaining. Ethan Stair led the Mercer attack with 12 points and nine rebounds. Ross Cummings and Dimitrijevic caught fire in the second half, finishing with 10 and nine points, respectively … Mercer evened its record to 1-1 on the year with a 105-52 conquest of Piedmont College Nov. 9 at Macon. Seven players scored in double figures, led by freshman guard DJ Peavy who dropped 16. Mercer ran out to an early 10 point lead at 25-15 before going on a 17-0 run to gain control of the game at 42-15. The 105 points were the most scored by a Mercer team since the home opener last season when the Bears went for 110 points against Toccoa Falls … Mercer fell 75-67 to UAB Nov. 6 in its season opener. First-year player Djordje Dimitrijevic came off the bench to lead all scorers for the Bears in that game with 19 points.

ABOUT THE SKYHAWKS
UT Martin carries a 1-1 record into Friday's matchup. The Skyhawks opened the season with a 91-58 conquest of Cumberland. Most recently, UT Martin battled against Conference USA favorite Western Kentucky on the road before dropping an 86-71 decision. Delfincko Bogan and Kevin Little scored 18 points apiece for the Skyhawks while Derek Hawthorne Jr. went for a career-best 17 … Bogan, a 5-10 senior guard, leads UT Martin in scoring averaging 17.5 points per outing. Little is next scoring at a 17-point clip while Hawthorne is averaging 15.5 points per contest. Jeremy Joyner tops the team in rebounding at six boards per game … UT Martin competes in the Ohio Valley Conference and is coached by Anthony Stewart. Coach Stewart is 33-35 in his three seasons at UT Martin.

MERCER WINNINGEST PROGRAM IN THE STATE OF GEORGIA OVER THE PAST DECADE
Under Coach Bob Hoffman, Mercer has won 199 games over the past 10-plus seasons (2008-09 to present), making the Bears the winningest Division I men's basketball program in the state of Georgia during that time period. Georgia State has the second most wins during that time frame (185), followed by the University of Georgia (176). Over the past decade, the Bears have won 19 or more games six different seasons.

NEW SEASON, NEW TEAM
Last season, the Bears featured a veteran senior-laden squad, including a trio of 1,000-point career scorers. Senior starters Stephon Jelks, Jordan Strawberry and Demetre Rivers all joined the school's 1,000-point club last season. Additionally, both Strawberry and Jelks earned second-team All-SoCon honors. Senior post man Desmond Ringer was recognized for his off the court achievements, as he was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Give Back Team, a prestigious group of 10 men's college basketball players that is recognized for their outstanding community service efforts. Additionally, Ringer's 59.4% career field goal percentage tops the Mercer charts for a minimum of 240 made. Senior guard Ria'n Holland, a preseason all-conference selection, was sidelined for 16 games with a broken hand, but still finished with 316 points and a team-best 17.6 per game scoring average … Mercer just may be the youngest team in the Southern Conference this season. The Bears welcome 10 newcomers to this year's club, including eight freshmen. Five freshmen have seen action thus far this season … Ross Cummings, a 6-3 junior guard, is the lone returning starter. Others who are back that saw extensive action a year ago include forward Cory Kilby and guards Jaylen Stowe, Marcus Cohen, and Ethan Stair … Mercer also features two new assistant coaches on this year's staff. Coach Paul Mrozik joined the Bears following extensive experience at the collegiate, professional, international, and high school levels. Coach Philip Pearson joined the staff following more than two decades of experience coaching at multiple Division I programs.

COACH BOB HOFFMAN
Under the direction of Head Coach Bob Hoffman, the Mercer men's basketball program has achieved a level of unprecedented success in the school's history. As Coach Hoffman begins his 11^th season with the Bears, that success and standard of excellence is only expected to continue … During the 2017-18 season, Coach Hoffman achieved yet another milestone in his illustrious career, winning his 500^th game at the men's collegiate level. Coach Hoffman enters Friday's game just one win shy of 200 victories at Mercer, and his 199 wins as the Bears' head coach ranks second all-time in the history of the program … A two-time conference Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year, Coach Hoffman has directed Mercer to six postseason tournament berths, 19 postseason tournament victories and 10 power conference wins. Twice the Bears have won a school-record 27 games (2011-12 and 2013-14) under his leadership … Coach Hoffman's coaching legacy also includes tremendous success at the NAIA level. As head coach of the Southern Nazarene women's program from 1987-90, Coach Hoffman led the team to the 1988-89 national championship. For his efforts, Coach Hoffman was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year, along with the Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) Coach of the Year honors. He also was named the SAC Coach of the Year the following season, 1989-90 … Coach Hoffman continued his winning ways as head coach of the men's program at Oklahoma Baptist University from 1990-99. Twice he was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year (1992-93 & 1996-97) and was the SAC Coach of the Year on three different occasions (1992-93, 1995-96 & 1996-97). All said, he has earned seven conference coach of the year accolades and three national coach of the year honors during his career.

BEAR TRACKS
Mercer has been chosen to finish fifth in the Southern Conference according to the 2018-19 preseason poll. UNCG, who captured both the regular season and conference championship titles a year ago, has been selected to repeat as league champions once again this year … Guard Ross Cummings, a 6-3 junior from Dickson, Tenn., has been selected to the preseason All-SoCon Team. Cummings started 12 games a year ago, averaging 8.7 points per contest. Filling in for the injured Ria'n Holland, Cummings quickly earned the reputation of being one of the most accurate outside shooters in the SoCon. He knocked down a team-best 57 three-pointers, shooting 43.2% from behind the arc, good for fourth best in the conference. Cummings led the club in scoring on four different occasions, scoring a career-high 23 points against UNCG … Sophomore guard Marcus Cohen appeared in all 34 games and ranked second on the team in assists, while averaging 4.2 points per outing. Senior forward Cory Kilby saw action in 33 of 34 contests and scored at a 4.0 clip while senior guard Jaylen Stowe played in all 34 games and tallied 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Ethan Stair was plagued by injuries much of the season but managed to average 5.9 points while appearing in 20 games … In the opener vs. UAB, three Bears scored in double figures, including Dimitrijevic (19), Stair (12), and Stowe (11). Stowe also paced the team with seven rebounds. Cohen had a team-high four assists. Freshman DJ Peavy was impressive in his first outing, knocking down all three of his field goal attempts, including two from behind the three-point arc, to tally nine points … Seven Bears scored in double figures in the victory over Piedmont College. Peavy led the way with 16 … Mercer mounted a furious second half comeback vs. Georgia State, outscoring the Panthers 35-22 in the final 20 minutes … The Bears outrebounded Georgia State 39-31. The Bears also had as many field goals (23) as Georgia State; however, the Panthers sank 15 three pointers compared to Mercer's seven. Stair's nine rebounds vs. Georgia State equaled his career high … Cohen leads the club in assists at 3.3 per outing … Nine Bears are currently averaging 10 or more minutes of playing time per contest.

NEWCOMERS MAKING AN IMPACT
Making his debut in a Mercer Bear uniform, junior college transfer Djordje Dimitrijevic had a strong showing in the season opener vs. UAB. The 6-2 guard from Serbia, who transferred in from Western Nebraska Community College, came off the bench against the Blazers to lead all scorers with 19 points. Djordje hit five of 10 field goals, including one three point basket, and connected on eight of 10 from the charity stripe. He also handed out three assists in just 19 minutes of play. Heading into Friday's action vs. UT Martin, Dimitrijevic leads the Bears in scoring at a 12.7 clip. Rookie DJ Peavy is averaging 8.3 points per outing while connecting on 77.8% of his three point attempts (7-9). Freshman Fardaws Aimaq tops the Bears in rebounding at 7.3 boards per game.

STAIR OFF TO FAST START
Junior guard Ethan Stair is second on the club in scoring (12.0) and rebounding (5.7). He's shooting 54.5% from the floor (12-22), including six of 13 (.462) from behind the arc. Coach Bob Hoffman believes Stair can be one of the best rebounding guards in the country and he certainly fit that role in the game at Georgia State, leading all rebounders with nine boards.

ROSS CUMMINGS A.K.A. "THE MAMBA"
Cummings made the most of his opportunity of seeing unexpected playing time a year ago to emerge as one of the surprise offensive performers in the SoCon. When Holland went down with a hand injury in the game at VMI, Cummings stepped in over the second half of the season to make his mark for the Bears. Deemed the "Mamba," for raising his ability to another level, Cummings went for a career-high 22 points against Wofford, sinking six of eight three point shots, including three crucial baskets down the stretch. He went for 16 points on 6-12 shooting (4-6 on 3's) in the win over UTC … The "Mamba" scored 13 second half points enroute to a team-high 21-point effort in the Feb. 12 win at Samford … Cummings tallied 13 points in the Feb. 15 victory over VMI … In Mercer's comeback win over eventual league champ UNCG, Cummings broke his career-high by hitting for 23 points, knocking down seven of 10 field goal attempts, including four of six from behind the three point arc. Cummings totaled 19 points in the Feb. 20 victory over WCU, hitting five of eight three pointers … Cummings went for 14 points in the Feb. 23 win at The Citadel … Cummings appeared in 28 games with 12 starts, averaging 8.7 points and knocking down a team-best 57 three-pointers … Following a sluggish start in this year's season opener (just two points vs. UAB), Cummings responded with a 14-point showing in the victory over Piedmont. The "Mamba" connected on three long range jumpers during Mercer's second half run against Georgia State and finished the contest with 10 points.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mercer stays at home to play host to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Tuesday, Nov. 20. Start time at Hawkins Arena is 7 p.m. (ET).

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.

Mercer Entertains UT Martin Friday Night At Hawkins Arena

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Players Mentioned

Fardaws Aimaq

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

DJ Peavy

Ethan Stair

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