Saturday, November 24
Raleigh, N.C.
5:30 p.m.
Mercer University
3-3
74
at
78
NC State
6-0
1
2
F
Mercer
32
42
74
NC State
37
41
78
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Team Stats
MER
ST
FG%
.523
.450
3FG%
.250
.296
FT%
.735
.552
RB
35
30
TO
23
11
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
25
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
11
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Gerrit Van Genderen
Bears Fight to Finish in Road Loss at NC State
11/24/2018 8:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Djordje Dimitrijevic drops 25 points in four-point road loss
RALEIGH, N.C. – Junior guard Djordje Dimitrijevic scored a season-high 25 points as Mercer battled back from a 21-point second-half deficit before falling to NC State, 78-74, at PNC Arena on Saturday afternoon.
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Dimitrijevic scored the Bears' final six points and had Mercer (3-3) trailing by just two points, 76-74, with seven seconds remaining as he hit his seventh field goal of the contest. NC State (6-0), which made just 16 of its 29 free throw attempts, sealed the game when Eric Lockett hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left.
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NC State led, 56-35, with 13:07 remaining in the game before the Bears slowly cut into the deficit with a handful of runs. Mercer outscored the Wolfpack 17-3 over a five-minute stretch to pull within five points (64-59) with 4:53 on the clock. The Bears made 10 free throws during the run and finished the game 25-of-34 at the line, highlighted by Dimitrijevic's 11-for-11 performance.
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Ethan Stair converted a layup with 41 seconds left to cut NC State's lead to 73-68 before the Bears handed the keys to Dimitrijevic, who tallied the final six points on three unassisted layups.
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The Bears committed 15 of an uncharacteristic 23 turnovers in the first half and trailed, 37-32, at halftime despite leading for over 10 minutes before heading into the locker room. Mercer did not trail over the first 12:45 of the first half; NC State connected on a free throw to take its first lead, 24-23, with 7:15 left in the opening half.
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After the Bears took a 28-26 lead with 5:23 left before halftime on a three-pointer by Cummings and a pair of made free throws by Dimitrijevic, NC State scored 11 of the final 15 points in the first half. Cummings' three-pointer – one of his two made treys – broke a near-four-minute scoring drought by the Bears and halted an eight-point run by the Wolfpack.
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Mercer used a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 19-12, at the 13:10 mark of the first half. A trio of Bears keyed the run; Cummings hit his first three-point attempt on a fast break and was followed by a layup from Marcus Cohen and a dunk by Jaylen Stowe. The Bears hit seven of their first nine shots from the field and were 11-for-20 (55 percent) in the first half.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Djordje Dimitrijevic stole the show in Raleigh with a dominant individual effort that included 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 11-for-11 at the free throw line. The junior transfer tied a season-high with seven rebounds as well.
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NOTABLES
» Dimitrijevic's 25 points are the most by a Bear this season. He is the first Bear to score 20-plus points since Jordan Strawberry dropped 27 vs. UNCG on Feb. 17, 2018.
» Cory Kilby tallied a team-high eight rebounds, one shy of his career-best.
» Ross Cummings scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.
» Despite battling foul trouble all game, Jaylen Stowe scored a career-high 15 points. He added three rebounds and two steals.
» Marcus Cohen tallied a team-high four assists. He was 3-for-6 from the field for six points.
» Mercer matched NC State's 34 points in the paint.
» The Bears shot 52 percent from the field.
» NC State entered the game with an average halftime lead of 24.8 points. Mercer trailed by just five points at the intermission.
» Mercer fell to 3-2 all-time against NC State.
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QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "It was an amazing resolve to play as hard as we did. No matter what the situation was, we kept battling and fighting for each other. It is something that will help us for the rest of the year. I really love the guys that I am coaching. I love how we never gave up tonight and fought to the last whistle. I don't love that we lost, but we can build on this. I'm really proud of the fight and will in our team. Our efforts were great tonight and it will pay off down the road."
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RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 3-3
» NC State: 6-0
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UP NEXT
Mercer returns home from its Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina to host Brewton-Parker at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Hawkins Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Mercer is 3-0 at home this season.
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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Dimitrijevic scored the Bears' final six points and had Mercer (3-3) trailing by just two points, 76-74, with seven seconds remaining as he hit his seventh field goal of the contest. NC State (6-0), which made just 16 of its 29 free throw attempts, sealed the game when Eric Lockett hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left.
Â
NC State led, 56-35, with 13:07 remaining in the game before the Bears slowly cut into the deficit with a handful of runs. Mercer outscored the Wolfpack 17-3 over a five-minute stretch to pull within five points (64-59) with 4:53 on the clock. The Bears made 10 free throws during the run and finished the game 25-of-34 at the line, highlighted by Dimitrijevic's 11-for-11 performance.
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Ethan Stair converted a layup with 41 seconds left to cut NC State's lead to 73-68 before the Bears handed the keys to Dimitrijevic, who tallied the final six points on three unassisted layups.
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The Bears committed 15 of an uncharacteristic 23 turnovers in the first half and trailed, 37-32, at halftime despite leading for over 10 minutes before heading into the locker room. Mercer did not trail over the first 12:45 of the first half; NC State connected on a free throw to take its first lead, 24-23, with 7:15 left in the opening half.
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After the Bears took a 28-26 lead with 5:23 left before halftime on a three-pointer by Cummings and a pair of made free throws by Dimitrijevic, NC State scored 11 of the final 15 points in the first half. Cummings' three-pointer – one of his two made treys – broke a near-four-minute scoring drought by the Bears and halted an eight-point run by the Wolfpack.
Â
Mercer used a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the game, 19-12, at the 13:10 mark of the first half. A trio of Bears keyed the run; Cummings hit his first three-point attempt on a fast break and was followed by a layup from Marcus Cohen and a dunk by Jaylen Stowe. The Bears hit seven of their first nine shots from the field and were 11-for-20 (55 percent) in the first half.
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Djordje Dimitrijevic stole the show in Raleigh with a dominant individual effort that included 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting and 11-for-11 at the free throw line. The junior transfer tied a season-high with seven rebounds as well.
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NOTABLES
» Dimitrijevic's 25 points are the most by a Bear this season. He is the first Bear to score 20-plus points since Jordan Strawberry dropped 27 vs. UNCG on Feb. 17, 2018.
» Cory Kilby tallied a team-high eight rebounds, one shy of his career-best.
» Ross Cummings scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half.
» Despite battling foul trouble all game, Jaylen Stowe scored a career-high 15 points. He added three rebounds and two steals.
» Marcus Cohen tallied a team-high four assists. He was 3-for-6 from the field for six points.
» Mercer matched NC State's 34 points in the paint.
» The Bears shot 52 percent from the field.
» NC State entered the game with an average halftime lead of 24.8 points. Mercer trailed by just five points at the intermission.
» Mercer fell to 3-2 all-time against NC State.
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QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "It was an amazing resolve to play as hard as we did. No matter what the situation was, we kept battling and fighting for each other. It is something that will help us for the rest of the year. I really love the guys that I am coaching. I love how we never gave up tonight and fought to the last whistle. I don't love that we lost, but we can build on this. I'm really proud of the fight and will in our team. Our efforts were great tonight and it will pay off down the road."
Â
RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 3-3
» NC State: 6-0
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UP NEXT
Mercer returns home from its Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina to host Brewton-Parker at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Hawkins Arena. The game will be streamed on ESPN+. Mercer is 3-0 at home this season.
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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