Mercer Hosts Piedmont College in Home-Opener Friday

MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team opens the home portion of its 2018-19 schedule by hosting Piedmont College Friday, Nov. 9. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is 7 p.m. (ET).

GAMEDAY LINEUP
Date: Friday, Nov. 9, 2018 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (0-1, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Piedmont (0-0, 0-0 USA South)
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
In a series that dates back to the 1946-47 season, Mercer holds an 8-1 lead in the series. The Bears lost the first game they ever played against Piedmont (49-45 on 1/11/47) and have won the last eight meetings. The last time these two teams met was on Nov. 14, 2014 with Mercer claiming an 88-48 victory at Macon … The Bears have set a couple of Hawkins Arena records in their games vs. Piedmont. Former Mercer standout Daniel Emerson grabbed a Hawkins Arena best 19 rebounds vs. the Lions on Nov. 14, 2008, which resulted in an 89-63 victory by the Bears. The Bears' EJ Kusnyer tied a Hawkins Arena record by sinking eight three-pointers in an 87-62 triumph over Piedmont on Dec. 10, 2009.

BEAR NECESSITIES
QUICK RECAP
Mercer is coming off a hard-fought 75-67 season opening loss Nov. 6 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Bears grabbed an early six point lead and were ahead for the better part of the opening half. The Blazers went on a 14-4 run to grab a 28-20 lead and took a 34-25 lead into intermission. UAB jumped out to a 15-point advantage early in the second half before the Bears went on a 9-0 run and sliced the lead to six at 46-40. UAB responded with a 20-10 run and were up 66-50 with 2:29 remaining. Mercer showed a lot of fight and determination down the stretch, turning up the defensive pressure and cutting the lead to 71-65 with 35 seconds to go. The three ball wouldn't fall for the Bears in the closing seconds; however, and the Blazers prevailed 75-67 … First-year player Djordje Dimitrijevic came off the bench to lead all scorers for the Bears with 19 points. Mercer committed 18 turnovers, 14 of them coming in the first half, and connected on just four of 23 three-point attempts. Mercer was also outrebounded 46-34 in the contest.

ABOUT THE LIONS
Piedmont College is an NCAA Division III program that competes in the USA South Athletic Conference. The campus is located in Demorest, Ga. Piedmont finished 15-11 overall and 10-6 in league play a year ago. Two starters from that team return – guards Marquise Lanier and Taylor Mills. Lanier is a senior from Grayson, Ga., who averaged 12.5 points and 4.7 rebounds last season. Mills is a senior from Buford, Ga., who averaged 12.4 points last year … The Lions are coached by Greg Neely who is in his fifth season with the program. His record at Piedmont is 51-52 and his overall head coaching record (he also coached one season at Warren Wilson) is 70-62.

HOME OPENERS
Under Coach Bob Hoffman, Mercer is 10-0 in home openers. The Bears defeated Toccoa Falls 110-43 in the season opener a year ago (11/12/17). Ria'n Holland led all scorers with 16 points as four Bears scored in double figures … Mercer has won 10 straight home openers, all under Coach Hoffman. The last time the Bears dropped a home opener was on Nov. 13, 2007 when they lost 90-83 to Alabama.

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 saw action in the season opener vs. UAB … 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 the 2018-19 campaign just two wins shy of 200 victories at Mercer, and his 198 wins as the Bears' head coach ranks second all-time in the history of the program … A two-time conference 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.

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.

DJORDJE IMPRESSIVE IN HIS DEBUT
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.

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.

WHAT'S NEXT
Mercer travels up the road to Atlanta to take on Georgia State Tuesday, Nov. 13. Start time at the GSU Sports Arena is 7 p.m. (ET). Mercer returns back home to Hawkins Arena Friday, Nov. 16 to take on UT-Martin. That matchup will tip off at 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 Hosts Piedmont College in Home-Opener Friday

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Players Mentioned

Djordje Dimitrijevic

Ria'n Holland

DJ Peavy

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