Thursday, February 15
Macon, Ga.
7 P.M.
Mercer University
(14-13, 7-7)
82
vs
58
VMI
(7-18, 2-12)
1
2
F
VMI
23
35
58
Mercer
41
41
82
Team Stats
VMI
MER
FG%
.367
.520
3FG%
.344
.444
FT%
.500
.857
RB
26
40
TO
8
10
STL
3
4
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballPhoto by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Rolls To Fourth Straight Victory With 82-58 Defeat Of VMI
2/15/2018 9:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Demetre Rivers scored a game-high 21 points to lead Mercer to its fourth consecutive victory with a convincing 82-58 triumph over VMI Thursday evening at Hawkins Arena.
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Rivers connected on seven of eight field goal attempts, including three of four behind the three point arc to pace the Bears' offensive attack. Ross Cummings continued his solid offensive play, scoring 13 points, including four from beyond the three point stripe. Stephon Jelks led the Bears in rebounding with 10 boards, while Jordan Strawberry played a strong floor game and dished out eight assists.
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Mercer jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and gained control of the tempo from the outset. A three-pointer by Cummings increased the lead to 10-2 at the 15:30 mark of the first half. The lead stretched to 23-7 on another three point basket by Cummings with 10:18 remaining in the opening stanza. The Bears led by as many as 20 in the first half and took a 41-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
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Mercer picked up where they left off in the second half and a three point basket by Rivers at the 14:50 mark gave the Bears a 59-34 advantage. There was no looking back and Mercer came away with the 82-58 win to open its three-game home stand on a positive note.
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Mercer shot a solid 52% from the floor, including 57.1% in the second half. The Bears also outrebounded the Keydets 40-26.
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VMI was led in scoring by Austin Vereen and Jordan Ratliffe, who tallied 14 points apiece.
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The win was Mercer's fourth straight over VMI. The Bears improve to 14-13 overall and evened their Southern Conference ledger at 7-7. VMI falls to 7-18 overall and 2-12 in the SoCon.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior forward Demetre Rivers scored a game-high 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, including 3-4 from behind the three-point stripe.
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NOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "I love winning like this. It's difficult to manage a game like this at the end. We had multiple guys that made plays that allowed us to win this game. Demetre (Rivers) was special tonight; that's for sure. There was good energy in the building tonight and it was good to see some former players here tonight. We had a bunch of people flying around getting rebounds and that's a good sign. Only 10 turnovers against their defense and that is pretty special. We got off to a quick start and that helps you from the very beginning. It was good to see how we were able to finish this thing off."
RECORDS UPDATE
The Bears continue their home stand by hosting UNCG this Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is 4 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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Rivers connected on seven of eight field goal attempts, including three of four behind the three point arc to pace the Bears' offensive attack. Ross Cummings continued his solid offensive play, scoring 13 points, including four from beyond the three point stripe. Stephon Jelks led the Bears in rebounding with 10 boards, while Jordan Strawberry played a strong floor game and dished out eight assists.
Â
Mercer jumped out to an early 7-0 lead and gained control of the tempo from the outset. A three-pointer by Cummings increased the lead to 10-2 at the 15:30 mark of the first half. The lead stretched to 23-7 on another three point basket by Cummings with 10:18 remaining in the opening stanza. The Bears led by as many as 20 in the first half and took a 41-23 lead into the locker room at the break.
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Mercer picked up where they left off in the second half and a three point basket by Rivers at the 14:50 mark gave the Bears a 59-34 advantage. There was no looking back and Mercer came away with the 82-58 win to open its three-game home stand on a positive note.
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Mercer shot a solid 52% from the floor, including 57.1% in the second half. The Bears also outrebounded the Keydets 40-26.
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VMI was led in scoring by Austin Vereen and Jordan Ratliffe, who tallied 14 points apiece.
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The win was Mercer's fourth straight over VMI. The Bears improve to 14-13 overall and evened their Southern Conference ledger at 7-7. VMI falls to 7-18 overall and 2-12 in the SoCon.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior forward Demetre Rivers scored a game-high 21 points on 7-8 shooting from the field, including 3-4 from behind the three-point stripe.
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NOTABLES
- Ross Cummings continued his solid offensive play, scoring 13 points and that included four three point baskets.
- Mercer led the entire game. The Bears' biggest lead was 30 points.
- Mercer connected on 18 of 21 free throws for a red-hot 85.7%.
- Cory Kilby came off the bench to contribute 11 points on 4-7 shooting from the field.
- Jaylen Stowe also came off the bench to score eight points for the Bears.
- Mercer sweeps the regular season matchup with VMI and leads the overall series against the Keydets 9-2. Mercer has won four straight over VMI.
Coach Bob Hoffman – "I love winning like this. It's difficult to manage a game like this at the end. We had multiple guys that made plays that allowed us to win this game. Demetre (Rivers) was special tonight; that's for sure. There was good energy in the building tonight and it was good to see some former players here tonight. We had a bunch of people flying around getting rebounds and that's a good sign. Only 10 turnovers against their defense and that is pretty special. We got off to a quick start and that helps you from the very beginning. It was good to see how we were able to finish this thing off."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (14-13, 7-7 SoCon)
- VMI:Â (7-18, 2-12 SoCon)
The Bears continue their home stand by hosting UNCG this Saturday, Feb. 17. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is 4 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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