Saturday, January 12
Macon, Ga.
4:30 p.m.
Mercer University
6-11, 1-4SoCon
68
vs
72
ETSU
15-4, 5-1SoCon
1
2
OT 1
F
ETSU
28
35
9
72
Mercer
32
31
5
68
Team Stats
ETSU
MER
FG%
.386
.469
3FG%
.250
.348
FT%
.917
.667
RB
50
23
TO
17
12
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Pts
22
FGM
6
3FGM
4
FTM
6
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Falters in Overtime Against ETSU
1/12/2019 7:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Four Bears score double-figures in home SoCon loss
MACON, Ga. – Mercer suffered a 72-68 overtime loss to ETSU in Southern Conference play at Hawkins Arena on Saturday afternoon despite a game-high 22 points scored by junior guard Ross Cummings.
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The Bears (6-11, 1-4 SoCon) led for 20 minutes of the contest but were outscored, 9-5, in the 10-minute overtime period as ETSU improved to a league-leading 5-1 in SoCon play (15-4 overall). It was Mercer's ninth straight loss to the Bucs.
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A layup by Djordje Dimitrijevic with 8:28 left in overtime tied the game, 65-65. Trailing 68-65 with 22.4 seconds remaining, Stair grabbed a defensive rebound following a missed free throw, but stepped out of bounds in the process, giving ETSU another possession. Cummings was fouled on the next play, however, and knocked down a pair of free throws to bring Mercer within one point, 68-67.
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The game then transitioned into a battle of free throws; ETSU made its final four attempts from the charity stripe while the Bears mustered just one point at the line before the final whistle.
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At the end of regulation, Ethan Stair made a game-tying layup with 30 seconds remaining. The Bears then followed up the shot with quality defense, forcing two missed shots by the Bucs before the buzzer. ETSU led for nearly 10 minutes in the second half and outscored Mercer, 35-31. Cummings scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, connecting on 5-of-8 shots from the field, including three three-pointers.
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Mercer owned a 32-28 advantage at halftime, led by 11 points from Stair, who hit five of Mercer's 13 first-half shots to lead all scorers. The Bears shot 52 percent overall over the first 20 minutes of play and entered the locker room with their first halftime lead since Dec. 1 at The Citadel.
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A 10-0 run by the Bears over a near six-minute stretch in the first half gave them a 27-18 lead with under three minutes on the clock. ETSU would rally, however, scoring 10 of the first half's final 15 points to cut Mercer's lead to four. Trailing 9-6 early in the contest, Mercer scored six consecutive points – including four by Stair – to take a 12-9 advantage. Five straight points by Djordje Dimitrijevic helped the Bears maintain a 17-16 lead at the 12-minute mark.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ross Cummings dropped a game-high 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field to lead the Bears in the scoring department. The junior also made 6-of-8 free throw attempts. It was Cummings' sixth game with 20-plus points this season.
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NOTABLES
» This was Mercer's first overtime game of the season and also the first since a 70-66 loss at UNCG on Jan. 20, 2018.
» The Bears forced ETSU into 17 turnovers and scored 13 points off of them.
» Stair tallied a team-high three steals. He ranks fourth in the SoCon in steals.
» Jaylen Stowe, Mercer's leading rebounder, led the team with seven boards. He added 12 points for his 11th game in double figures.
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QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "It was a great college basketball game. We needed to help our guys more. We can't let that kind of team have as many opportunities as they did. They have been the #1 rebounding team in the country and they showed it tonight with 27 offensive rebounds. We still had a chance to win. We just needed to make a few more plays and that's on me. We got to find a way to finish and that's what I need to figure out."
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RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 6-11 (1-4 SoCon)
» ETSU: 15-4 (5-1 SoCon)
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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The Bears (6-11, 1-4 SoCon) led for 20 minutes of the contest but were outscored, 9-5, in the 10-minute overtime period as ETSU improved to a league-leading 5-1 in SoCon play (15-4 overall). It was Mercer's ninth straight loss to the Bucs.
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A layup by Djordje Dimitrijevic with 8:28 left in overtime tied the game, 65-65. Trailing 68-65 with 22.4 seconds remaining, Stair grabbed a defensive rebound following a missed free throw, but stepped out of bounds in the process, giving ETSU another possession. Cummings was fouled on the next play, however, and knocked down a pair of free throws to bring Mercer within one point, 68-67.
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The game then transitioned into a battle of free throws; ETSU made its final four attempts from the charity stripe while the Bears mustered just one point at the line before the final whistle.
Â
At the end of regulation, Ethan Stair made a game-tying layup with 30 seconds remaining. The Bears then followed up the shot with quality defense, forcing two missed shots by the Bucs before the buzzer. ETSU led for nearly 10 minutes in the second half and outscored Mercer, 35-31. Cummings scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, connecting on 5-of-8 shots from the field, including three three-pointers.
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Mercer owned a 32-28 advantage at halftime, led by 11 points from Stair, who hit five of Mercer's 13 first-half shots to lead all scorers. The Bears shot 52 percent overall over the first 20 minutes of play and entered the locker room with their first halftime lead since Dec. 1 at The Citadel.
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A 10-0 run by the Bears over a near six-minute stretch in the first half gave them a 27-18 lead with under three minutes on the clock. ETSU would rally, however, scoring 10 of the first half's final 15 points to cut Mercer's lead to four. Trailing 9-6 early in the contest, Mercer scored six consecutive points – including four by Stair – to take a 12-9 advantage. Five straight points by Djordje Dimitrijevic helped the Bears maintain a 17-16 lead at the 12-minute mark.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ross Cummings dropped a game-high 22 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field to lead the Bears in the scoring department. The junior also made 6-of-8 free throw attempts. It was Cummings' sixth game with 20-plus points this season.
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NOTABLES
» This was Mercer's first overtime game of the season and also the first since a 70-66 loss at UNCG on Jan. 20, 2018.
» The Bears forced ETSU into 17 turnovers and scored 13 points off of them.
» Stair tallied a team-high three steals. He ranks fourth in the SoCon in steals.
» Jaylen Stowe, Mercer's leading rebounder, led the team with seven boards. He added 12 points for his 11th game in double figures.
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QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "It was a great college basketball game. We needed to help our guys more. We can't let that kind of team have as many opportunities as they did. They have been the #1 rebounding team in the country and they showed it tonight with 27 offensive rebounds. We still had a chance to win. We just needed to make a few more plays and that's on me. We got to find a way to finish and that's what I need to figure out."
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RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 6-11 (1-4 SoCon)
» ETSU: 15-4 (5-1 SoCon)
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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