Saturday, January 26
Greensboro, NC
5 p.m.
Mercer University
8-13, 3-6
81
at
88
UNCG
19-3, 8-1
1
2
F
Mercer
33
48
81
UNC Greensboro
45
43
88
Team Stats
MER
UNCG
FG%
.460
.465
3FG%
.316
.320
FT%
.879
.560
RB
40
32
TO
24
13
STL
7
14
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Drops 88-81 Decision at UNCG
1/26/2019 8:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears hit 29-33 from free throw stripe to stay close to the Spartans
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Mercer knocked down 29 of 33 free throws but came out on the short end of the contest losing a Southern Conference road contest 88-81 to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro Saturday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Â
UNCG made 10 more field goals than Mercer (33-23) but the Bears were able to stay close thanks to their precision at the charity stripe. Jaylen Stowe paced the Mercer scoring attack with 16 points, while Ross Cummings, Ethan Stair and Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 14 apiece. Freshman center Fardaws Aimaq came off the bench to contribute 11 and grab a game-high eight rebounds.
Â
Isaiah Miller led UNCG with 22 points while Francis Alonso tallied 14 and Demetrius Troy had 13.
Â
Djordje Dimitrijevic scored Mercer's first five points, but UNCG jumped out to an early 10-5 lead. The Bears then went on a 5-0 run to knot the score at 10-10. The Spartans responded with a 10-0 run of their own over the next 1:53 thanks to a flurry of Mercer turnovers to take a 20-10 lead into the second media timeout. UNCG raced out to a 35-22 lead thanks to a three-point basket by Angelo Allegri at the 5:32 mark of the opening half. Mercer's shooting went cold, as the Bears went more than 7:30 without a field goal, as UNCG stretched the lead to 43-27 on a layup by Demetrius Troy at the 2:24 mark. Mercer shot only 30% from the floor in the first half, but was able to keep things close by knocking down 17 of 18 free throws as UNCG took a 45-33 lead into the locker room.
Â
The Spartans continued to control the tempo in the second half and took their longest lead of the game 54-35 with 15:46 remaining. Mercer was unable to find its outside shooting touch but was able to stay in the game due to its marksmanship at the free throw stripe. The Bears kept getting to the line and whittling the lead before falling 88-81.
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jaylen Stowe scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out two assists. Stowe was a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
Â
NOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "We played a really good team; we fought hard but just threw the ball away way too much. Twenty four turnovers makes it really tough and yet we still had a chance to get close there at the end. Our guys fought through it and gave it everything they could to win this game. It was a physical game and we could have probably shot even more free throws. We spent a lot of energy to get back into the game and some of our young guys stepped up and made some plays at the end. We lost to a really good team tonight. Fardaws (Aimaq) made some good plays and he can make even more. I'm proud of our effort and our want to."
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer returns home to play host to league-leading Wofford Thursday, Jan. 31. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 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.
Â
Â
UNCG made 10 more field goals than Mercer (33-23) but the Bears were able to stay close thanks to their precision at the charity stripe. Jaylen Stowe paced the Mercer scoring attack with 16 points, while Ross Cummings, Ethan Stair and Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 14 apiece. Freshman center Fardaws Aimaq came off the bench to contribute 11 and grab a game-high eight rebounds.
Â
Isaiah Miller led UNCG with 22 points while Francis Alonso tallied 14 and Demetrius Troy had 13.
Â
Djordje Dimitrijevic scored Mercer's first five points, but UNCG jumped out to an early 10-5 lead. The Bears then went on a 5-0 run to knot the score at 10-10. The Spartans responded with a 10-0 run of their own over the next 1:53 thanks to a flurry of Mercer turnovers to take a 20-10 lead into the second media timeout. UNCG raced out to a 35-22 lead thanks to a three-point basket by Angelo Allegri at the 5:32 mark of the opening half. Mercer's shooting went cold, as the Bears went more than 7:30 without a field goal, as UNCG stretched the lead to 43-27 on a layup by Demetrius Troy at the 2:24 mark. Mercer shot only 30% from the floor in the first half, but was able to keep things close by knocking down 17 of 18 free throws as UNCG took a 45-33 lead into the locker room.
Â
The Spartans continued to control the tempo in the second half and took their longest lead of the game 54-35 with 15:46 remaining. Mercer was unable to find its outside shooting touch but was able to stay in the game due to its marksmanship at the free throw stripe. The Bears kept getting to the line and whittling the lead before falling 88-81.
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jaylen Stowe scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out two assists. Stowe was a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
Â
NOTABLES
- Ross Cummings was unable to score from three point range but managed to score 14 points, thanks to an 8-8 effort from the free throw line.
- Ethan Stair continued his solid play, scoring 14 points and grabbing six rebounds.
- Freshman post man Fardaws Aimaq was impressive off the bench, scoring a 11 points and grabbing a game-high eight rebounds.
- UNCG outscored Mercer 50-26 in the paint and 30-17 on points off turnovers.
- Mercer committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
Coach Bob Hoffman – "We played a really good team; we fought hard but just threw the ball away way too much. Twenty four turnovers makes it really tough and yet we still had a chance to get close there at the end. Our guys fought through it and gave it everything they could to win this game. It was a physical game and we could have probably shot even more free throws. We spent a lot of energy to get back into the game and some of our young guys stepped up and made some plays at the end. We lost to a really good team tonight. Fardaws (Aimaq) made some good plays and he can make even more. I'm proud of our effort and our want to."
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (8-13, 3-6 SoCon)
- UNCG :Â (19-3, 8-1 SoCon)
Mercer returns home to play host to league-leading Wofford Thursday, Jan. 31. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 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.
Â
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
