Monday, February 12
Birmingham, Ala.
8 p.m.
Mercer University
13-13, 6-7SoCon
74
at
69
Samford
9-19, 5-10SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
34
40
74
Samford
28
41
69
Team Stats
MER
SAM
FG%
.456
.434
3FG%
.261
.222
FT%
.727
.850
RB
37
29
TO
11
10
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Bears Earn Third Straight Victory With Gritty 74-69 Win At Samford
2/12/2018 10:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ross Cummings scored 21 and Jordan Strawberry tallied 18 to power Mercer to a 74-69 victory Monday night at the Pete Hanna Center. The Bears held Samford scoreless from the field the last 3:14 of the game. It was Mercer's third consecutive victory and continues the team's momentum as they head back to Macon to open a three-game home stand.
Cummings, who is averaging 18 points per game over the last five contests, scored 13 points after intermission, including three big three point baskets. Strawberry played a solid all-around game, dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds to go along with his 18 points. Strawberry now has 443 career assists to move past James Florence into the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time assists list.
Mercer took an early lead and never trailed in the opening half, stretching the margin out to seven at 22-17 on a Strawberry basket with 7:04 remaining. Samford responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 22-22. Ryan Johnson's layup with four seconds left pushed the Bears' lead up to 34-28 at the halftime break.
Samford opened the second half with a flurry and Alex Thompson's three-pointer at the 17:41 mark capped an 8-0 run to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 36-34. Mercer battled back with nine answered points and went back out in front 43-36. Despite going more than four minutes without a field goal, the Bears were able to knock down some free throws to maintain their precarious lead. Strawberry and Cummings carried the Mercer offense down the stretch and the Bears nailed 15 of 17 free throws in the second half to lead Mercer to a sweep of this two-game road swing.
Demetre Rivers scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Bears. Mercer won the battle of the boards 37-29 and outscored Samford 38-26 in the paint.
Samford was led in scoring by Triston Chambers with 16. Thompson and Josh Sharkey hit 15 point apiece for the Bulldogs.
The win was Mercer's 10th straight triumph over Samford.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior guard Jordan Strawberry played one of his finest all-around games of the season. The Anaheim, Calif., native scored 18 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. Strawberry moved past James Florence into the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time assists list with 443.
NOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "Jordan (Strawberry) was just amazing. He is playing with such intensity and that off balance shot he hit at the end was something else. Their guards are extremely quick and we did all we could to keep them off balance. We needed Jordan for the entire game tonight. They (Samford) scored 116 points the other night and to hold them to 69 points is a real credit to our assistant coaches and players. We hit some big free throws down the stretch. We made the plays we needed to in order to win a big game on the road. We've come a long way over the past week or so. We just need to keep doing the little things that can help us maintain this momentum that we've created."
RECORDS UPDATE
The Bears return to Macon for a three-game home stand beginning this Thursday, Feb. 15 as they host VMI. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena 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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Cummings, who is averaging 18 points per game over the last five contests, scored 13 points after intermission, including three big three point baskets. Strawberry played a solid all-around game, dishing out seven assists and grabbing six rebounds to go along with his 18 points. Strawberry now has 443 career assists to move past James Florence into the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time assists list.
Mercer took an early lead and never trailed in the opening half, stretching the margin out to seven at 22-17 on a Strawberry basket with 7:04 remaining. Samford responded with a 7-0 run to tie the score at 22-22. Ryan Johnson's layup with four seconds left pushed the Bears' lead up to 34-28 at the halftime break.
Samford opened the second half with a flurry and Alex Thompson's three-pointer at the 17:41 mark capped an 8-0 run to give the Bears their first lead of the game, 36-34. Mercer battled back with nine answered points and went back out in front 43-36. Despite going more than four minutes without a field goal, the Bears were able to knock down some free throws to maintain their precarious lead. Strawberry and Cummings carried the Mercer offense down the stretch and the Bears nailed 15 of 17 free throws in the second half to lead Mercer to a sweep of this two-game road swing.
Demetre Rivers scored 10 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds for the Bears. Mercer won the battle of the boards 37-29 and outscored Samford 38-26 in the paint.
Samford was led in scoring by Triston Chambers with 16. Thompson and Josh Sharkey hit 15 point apiece for the Bulldogs.
The win was Mercer's 10th straight triumph over Samford.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior guard Jordan Strawberry played one of his finest all-around games of the season. The Anaheim, Calif., native scored 18 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. Strawberry moved past James Florence into the No. 3 spot on the school's all-time assists list with 443.
NOTABLES
- Ross Cummings continued his torrid offensive play, scoring a game-high 21 points on seven of 15 shooting from the field, including four of 10 behind the three-point arc. Cummings is averaging 18 points over the last five games.
- Mercer led for more than 36 minutes of the game. There were two lead changes and five ties in the contest.
- Mercer shook off a poor free throw performance in the first half (1-5) and knocked down 15 of 17 from the charity stripe in the second stanza.
- Ryan Johnson came off the bench and contributed seven points in just six minutes of play for the Bears.
- Mercer turned the ball over just four times in the second half.
- Mercer sweeps the regular season matchup with Samford and leads the overall series against the Bulldogs 66-46. The Bears have won 10 straight over Samford.
Coach Bob Hoffman – "Jordan (Strawberry) was just amazing. He is playing with such intensity and that off balance shot he hit at the end was something else. Their guards are extremely quick and we did all we could to keep them off balance. We needed Jordan for the entire game tonight. They (Samford) scored 116 points the other night and to hold them to 69 points is a real credit to our assistant coaches and players. We hit some big free throws down the stretch. We made the plays we needed to in order to win a big game on the road. We've come a long way over the past week or so. We just need to keep doing the little things that can help us maintain this momentum that we've created."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (13-13, 6-7 SoCon)
- Samford:Â (9-19, 5-10 SoCon)
The Bears return to Macon for a three-game home stand beginning this Thursday, Feb. 15 as they host VMI. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena 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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