Thursday, February 1
Macon, Ga.
7:30 P.M.
Mercer University
(10-13, 3-7)
73
vs
85
Furman
(16-7, 7-3)
1
2
F
Furman
41
44
85
Mercer
35
38
73
Team Stats
FUR
MER
FG%
.509
.455
3FG%
.500
.192
FT%
.778
.571
RB
31
37
TO
8
9
STL
5
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Falls To Hot-Shooting Furman Team 85-73
2/1/2018 8:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – – Mercer couldn't withstand a barrage of three-point baskets from Furman as the Bears dropped an 85-73 decision to the Paladins Thursday night at Hawkins Arena.
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While Mercer scored two more field goals than Furman (30-28), the Paladins sank 15 of 30 three point attempts compared to the Bears' 5-26 shooting from behind the arc. Furman entered the game making just 34 percent of its three point shots on the season, but was able to knock down 50 percent from behind the stripe Thursday evening.
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Mercer's Jordan Strawberry led the Bears in scoring with 18 points and became the 40th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point career scoring mark. Strawberry, who also dished out six assists and had five rebounds, now has 1,014 career points. Ross Cummings tallied 15 points in his first career start, while Stephon Jelks, who joined the 1,000-point club last month, scored 11. Jalen Stowe nearly had a double-double in a reserve role, equaling his career high with 10 points and grabbing a career best nine rebounds. Desmond Ringer also had 10 points for the Bears.
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There were nine lead changes within the first six minutes of the first half before Furman's Devin Sibley, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year, hit a three point shot at the 14:09 mark to put the Paladins up 17-16 and give Furman the lead for good. Furman was ahead 41-35 at halftime.
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Jelks hit a basket at the 16:59 mark of the second half to shave the Furman lead to 46-43. The Paladins then went on a 16-9 run over the next seven minutes to increase their lead to 62-52. That lead ballooned to 70-54 on another Sibley three pointer with 7:11 remaining. Cummings nailed a three point basket for the Bears with 1:49 left to cut the lead to 80-71 but that was the closest Mercer would get the rest of the way.
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Furman had five players score in double figures, led by Sibley with 21. John Davis tallied 14 points and handed out seven assists. The Paladins shot 50.9 percent from the field while the Bears hit 45.5 percent of their shots. Mercer outrebounded Furman 37-31 and outscored the Paladins 40-20 in the paint.
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Mercer is now 10-13 on the season and 3-7 in the SoCon. Furman improves to 16-7 overall and
7-3 in the league.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior forward Jaylen Stowe was the player of the game for the Bears. Stowe flirted with a double-double coming off the bench for Mercer, tallying 10 points and nine rebounds.
QUOTABLES
"They made tremendous plays over and over again that put us in real jeopardy. They are so good at running their offensive sets. Every time we made a run, they had guys step up and make plays. The difference in the game was their ability to make the three point shot. They space the floor well and all of their guys can step up and hit the three point basket. (On Ross Cummings' play): "He played well. I was happy for him tonight and he exhibited some good things. He just needs to get a little stronger with the ball. (On Jalen Stowe's play): "You know what you're going to get with Jalen. With a lot of our guys down and out, he gave us a big boost off the bench. We have some guys banged up; hopefully they can play Saturday. Our guys showed intensity tonight; we had some opportunities but we just weren't able to take advantage of them. It's still a long time until tournament time. You don't know what's going to happen when tournament time comes around. You just have to keep playing, keep believing and keep giving amazing effort."
--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
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NOTABLES
The Bears have a quick turnaround and will host the Wofford Terriers Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff time for this conference matchup is 4:30 p.m. (ET) at Hawkins Arena.
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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While Mercer scored two more field goals than Furman (30-28), the Paladins sank 15 of 30 three point attempts compared to the Bears' 5-26 shooting from behind the arc. Furman entered the game making just 34 percent of its three point shots on the season, but was able to knock down 50 percent from behind the stripe Thursday evening.
Â
Mercer's Jordan Strawberry led the Bears in scoring with 18 points and became the 40th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point career scoring mark. Strawberry, who also dished out six assists and had five rebounds, now has 1,014 career points. Ross Cummings tallied 15 points in his first career start, while Stephon Jelks, who joined the 1,000-point club last month, scored 11. Jalen Stowe nearly had a double-double in a reserve role, equaling his career high with 10 points and grabbing a career best nine rebounds. Desmond Ringer also had 10 points for the Bears.
Â
There were nine lead changes within the first six minutes of the first half before Furman's Devin Sibley, the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year, hit a three point shot at the 14:09 mark to put the Paladins up 17-16 and give Furman the lead for good. Furman was ahead 41-35 at halftime.
Â
Jelks hit a basket at the 16:59 mark of the second half to shave the Furman lead to 46-43. The Paladins then went on a 16-9 run over the next seven minutes to increase their lead to 62-52. That lead ballooned to 70-54 on another Sibley three pointer with 7:11 remaining. Cummings nailed a three point basket for the Bears with 1:49 left to cut the lead to 80-71 but that was the closest Mercer would get the rest of the way.
Â
Furman had five players score in double figures, led by Sibley with 21. John Davis tallied 14 points and handed out seven assists. The Paladins shot 50.9 percent from the field while the Bears hit 45.5 percent of their shots. Mercer outrebounded Furman 37-31 and outscored the Paladins 40-20 in the paint.
Â
Mercer is now 10-13 on the season and 3-7 in the SoCon. Furman improves to 16-7 overall and
7-3 in the league.
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Junior forward Jaylen Stowe was the player of the game for the Bears. Stowe flirted with a double-double coming off the bench for Mercer, tallying 10 points and nine rebounds.
QUOTABLES
"They made tremendous plays over and over again that put us in real jeopardy. They are so good at running their offensive sets. Every time we made a run, they had guys step up and make plays. The difference in the game was their ability to make the three point shot. They space the floor well and all of their guys can step up and hit the three point basket. (On Ross Cummings' play): "He played well. I was happy for him tonight and he exhibited some good things. He just needs to get a little stronger with the ball. (On Jalen Stowe's play): "You know what you're going to get with Jalen. With a lot of our guys down and out, he gave us a big boost off the bench. We have some guys banged up; hopefully they can play Saturday. Our guys showed intensity tonight; we had some opportunities but we just weren't able to take advantage of them. It's still a long time until tournament time. You don't know what's going to happen when tournament time comes around. You just have to keep playing, keep believing and keep giving amazing effort."
--Head Coach Bob Hoffman
Â
NOTABLES
- Senior guard Jordan Strawberry scored a team-high 18 points while recording a team-high six assists, five boards and a steal.
- Senior forward Stephon Jelks was 50% from the field with 11 points and five rebounds. Jelks also dished one assist on the night.
- Senior guard Demetre Rivers had a solid stat-line of six rebounds, two points, two blocks, one assist and a steal.
- Mercer won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding the Paladins 37 to 31.
- The Bears shot 45.5% (30-66) from the field, but struggled behind the arc going 5 for 26 (19.2%).
- Mercer:Â (10-13, 3-7 SoCon)
- Furman:Â (16-7, 7-3 SoCon)
The Bears have a quick turnaround and will host the Wofford Terriers Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff time for this conference matchup is 4:30 p.m. (ET) at Hawkins Arena.
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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