Saturday, January 19
Birmingham, Ala.
3 p.m.
Mercer University
7-12, 2-5SoCon
93
at
87
Samford
12-8, 2-5SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
45
48
93
Samford
34
53
87
Team Stats
MER
SAM
FG%
.549
.455
3FG%
.476
.414
FT%
.771
.714
RB
28
38
TO
11
14
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
32
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
12
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
5
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
5
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Daniel Gibbons
Cummings’ 32 Points Lifts Mercer To Thrilling 93-87 Win At Samford
1/19/2019 6:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Mercer places four players in double figures in hard-fought victory
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Ross Cummings scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Mercer Bears to a gutsy 93-87 Southern Conference road win against Samford Saturday afternoon at the Pete Hanna Center.
Cummings, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, was a warrior throughout the game. He sank eight of 17 shots from the floor, including four of nine from three point range. The junior guard was perfect from the free throw line, connecting on all 12 of his attempts. Three other Mercer players scored in double figures. Ethan Stair tallied 18 points, Cory Kilby scored a career-high 17 points, and Jaylen Stowe scored 13.
Josh Sharkey paced Samford with 27 points. Brandon Austin scored 19, Robert Allen had 16 and Ruben Guerrero recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Mercer came out executing its offense in an efficient manner. The Bears ran out to a 16-11 lead at the 13 minute mark thanks to six straight points by Cummings. A backdoor layup by Stowe with 11:13 remaining stretched the lead to 20-14 for the Bears. Mercer went up by 11, 32-21, as the Bears were shooting better than 60 percent from the field. Cummings nailed his third three pointer of the half at the four minute mark to extend the Bears' lead to 12, 38-26. Stair's three ball with 2:23 remaining lifted Mercer to a 43-29 advantage. Stair hit another jumper at the 1:05 mark to give Mercer its largest lead of the first half, 45-31. Cummings and Stair combined for 27 first half points as the Bears took a 45-34 lead at the intermission.
Samford sliced the lead to seven, 57-50, on a three pointer by Kevion Nolan at the 12:23 mark. Moments later when Nolan was fouled on a three point attempt, he hit two of three free throws to cut the margin to 57-52. Sharkey's steal and subsequent layup brought Samford back to within three, 60-57 with 10:41 left. Guerrero's put back with 10:02 remaining cut the lead to 60-59. Mercer went back out to a 67-60 lead on pair of free throws by Stair with 7:44 left. Samford then scored five unanswered points to cut the margin to two, 67-65. Mercer turned the tables with a 6-0 run of its own to move back out in front 73-65. The biggest play of the came with 1:59 remaining when Nolan was ruled to have committed a Flagrant 2 foul on Cummings as he was taking the ball to the basket. With the Mercer trainer having to bandage up Cummings' forehead, the cool junior from Dickson, Tenn., calmly sank a pair of free throws and then followed that up with a three point basket with 1:40 left to give Mercer an 80-71 lead. Both teams battled toe to toe the remainder of the way as Mercer came out on top 93-87 to claim its first road victory of the season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ross Cummings scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Mercer offensive attack. The junior guard sank eight of 17 field goals, including four of nine from three point land. He was a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe and also handed out four assists. Cummings converted a five-point play with less than two minutes remaining, when he sank a pair of free throws after being fouled hard and then followed that up with a three point basket to lift Mercer to an 80-71 lead.
NOTABLES
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "This team persevered over and over again. We kept the lead and they made some big runs at us, but we had that never say die attitude. Ross (Cummings) showed just what type of player he is and just how tough he is. What a game he had here today. It was fun watching our guys fight their guts out and get the win today. Samford has been playing well and this was a big win for us here today. We may not be in a position to win the regular season conference title, but I'm so happy for these guys. This is why you coach. We kept battling and it's great to see all of that hard work pay off for us here tonight."
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer returns home to play host to VMI Thursday, Jan. 24. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 7:30 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.
Cummings, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, was a warrior throughout the game. He sank eight of 17 shots from the floor, including four of nine from three point range. The junior guard was perfect from the free throw line, connecting on all 12 of his attempts. Three other Mercer players scored in double figures. Ethan Stair tallied 18 points, Cory Kilby scored a career-high 17 points, and Jaylen Stowe scored 13.
Josh Sharkey paced Samford with 27 points. Brandon Austin scored 19, Robert Allen had 16 and Ruben Guerrero recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Mercer came out executing its offense in an efficient manner. The Bears ran out to a 16-11 lead at the 13 minute mark thanks to six straight points by Cummings. A backdoor layup by Stowe with 11:13 remaining stretched the lead to 20-14 for the Bears. Mercer went up by 11, 32-21, as the Bears were shooting better than 60 percent from the field. Cummings nailed his third three pointer of the half at the four minute mark to extend the Bears' lead to 12, 38-26. Stair's three ball with 2:23 remaining lifted Mercer to a 43-29 advantage. Stair hit another jumper at the 1:05 mark to give Mercer its largest lead of the first half, 45-31. Cummings and Stair combined for 27 first half points as the Bears took a 45-34 lead at the intermission.
Samford sliced the lead to seven, 57-50, on a three pointer by Kevion Nolan at the 12:23 mark. Moments later when Nolan was fouled on a three point attempt, he hit two of three free throws to cut the margin to 57-52. Sharkey's steal and subsequent layup brought Samford back to within three, 60-57 with 10:41 left. Guerrero's put back with 10:02 remaining cut the lead to 60-59. Mercer went back out to a 67-60 lead on pair of free throws by Stair with 7:44 left. Samford then scored five unanswered points to cut the margin to two, 67-65. Mercer turned the tables with a 6-0 run of its own to move back out in front 73-65. The biggest play of the came with 1:59 remaining when Nolan was ruled to have committed a Flagrant 2 foul on Cummings as he was taking the ball to the basket. With the Mercer trainer having to bandage up Cummings' forehead, the cool junior from Dickson, Tenn., calmly sank a pair of free throws and then followed that up with a three point basket with 1:40 left to give Mercer an 80-71 lead. Both teams battled toe to toe the remainder of the way as Mercer came out on top 93-87 to claim its first road victory of the season.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ross Cummings scored a game-high 32 points to lead the Mercer offensive attack. The junior guard sank eight of 17 field goals, including four of nine from three point land. He was a perfect 12-12 from the charity stripe and also handed out four assists. Cummings converted a five-point play with less than two minutes remaining, when he sank a pair of free throws after being fouled hard and then followed that up with a three point basket to lift Mercer to an 80-71 lead.
NOTABLES
- Cory Kilby likely played his best game as a Mercer Bear. The 6-7 senior tallied a career-high 17 points and pulled down three rebounds in 33 minutes of action.
- Ethan Stair continued his stellar play with 18 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals.
- Jaylen Stowe went for 13 points, grabbed two rebounds, handed out two assists and came up with one steal.
- Fardaws Aimaq was a key contributor off the bench with two points, a team-high six rebounds and a game-high four blocks.
- Mercer had 16 assists and only 11 turnovers.
- The Bears led 34:23 of the ball game.
- This was Mercer's 11th consecutive victory over Samford.
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "This team persevered over and over again. We kept the lead and they made some big runs at us, but we had that never say die attitude. Ross (Cummings) showed just what type of player he is and just how tough he is. What a game he had here today. It was fun watching our guys fight their guts out and get the win today. Samford has been playing well and this was a big win for us here today. We may not be in a position to win the regular season conference title, but I'm so happy for these guys. This is why you coach. We kept battling and it's great to see all of that hard work pay off for us here tonight."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer: (7-12, 2-5 SoCon)
- Samford : (12-8, 2-5 SoCon)
Mercer returns home to play host to VMI Thursday, Jan. 24. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 7:30 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.
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 7 vs Princeton)
Monday, October 06
Mercer 45 | Samford 21 Post Game Press Conference 10//5/25
Sunday, October 05
Mercer Football 2025 | vs. Samford | Full Game Highlights
Sunday, October 05
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 6 vs Samford)
Tuesday, September 30
