Thursday, January 31
Macon, Ga.
7 p.m.
Mercer University
(8-14, 3-7)
67
vs
76
Wofford
(18-4, 10-0)
1
2
F
Wofford
40
36
76
Mercer
37
30
67
Team Stats
WOF
MER
FG%
.407
.451
3FG%
.458
.304
FT%
.677
.583
RB
39
30
TO
8
13
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Bears Thwarted by Wofford 76-67 at Home
1/31/2019 9:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – A second-half cold spell by Mercer led to a 76-67 loss to Wofford in Southern Conference action on Thursday night at Hawkins Arena.
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The Bears, who fell to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in league play, were within three points of visiting Wofford (18-4, 10-0 SoCon) with four minutes and 40 seconds remaining, but could not hit the pivotal shot needed to tie or take the lead.
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After a three-pointer by Cory Kilby with 8:47 left, Mercer was held without a field goal for the following 6:21 until Ethan Stair hit a jumper in the paint, making it a 72-65 deficit for the Bears. Mercer would only manage one more field goal the rest of the game as Wofford pulled away for the nine-point victory.
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Kilby finished with a team-high 16 points while Stair (14), Djordje Dimitrijevic (12) and Ross Cummings (11) all scored in double figures. Mercer hit just 14-of-24 free throws in the contest, including 10-of-17 in the second half.
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Mercer trailed 40-37 at the half despite shooting 50 percent from the field (14-of-28) compared to Wofford's 37 percent. The difference in the first half proved to be Wofford's ability to get to the free throw line; the Terriers made 11-of-19 free throws while Mercer only attempted seven shots from the charity stripe, hitting four.
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Trailing by 15 points with three minutes left before the intermission, Mercer ended the first 20 minutes of play on a torrid 15-3 run to pull within three points. Stair tallied eight points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers, and Fardaws Aimaq added a buzzer-beating layup. It was all Wofford prior to the Bears' late rally, however. The Terriers hit seven first-half treys, including five by Nathan Hoover. Stair led the Bears with 10 points in the first half on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior Cory Kilby led the Bears in the scoring department with 16 points, falling just one shy of his career-high. He finished 5-of-8 from the field with two three-pointers and made all four of his free throw attempts.
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NOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "I thought Wofford played extremely well. We did a good job against them, other than the 11 threes they hit. We had opportunities, but the free throws really hurt us. We had multiple chances to tie or take the lead but we just could not get a basket to go in. And you've got to get ahead in those type of games and unfortunately we never did. This is a group of great young men who are trying really hard. We will need to find ways to have good mental pictures of what we need to do to get better."
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RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 8-14 (3-7 SoCon)
» Wofford: 18-4 (10-0 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, who fell to 8-14 overall and 3-7 in league play, were within three points of visiting Wofford (18-4, 10-0 SoCon) with four minutes and 40 seconds remaining, but could not hit the pivotal shot needed to tie or take the lead.
Â
After a three-pointer by Cory Kilby with 8:47 left, Mercer was held without a field goal for the following 6:21 until Ethan Stair hit a jumper in the paint, making it a 72-65 deficit for the Bears. Mercer would only manage one more field goal the rest of the game as Wofford pulled away for the nine-point victory.
Â
Kilby finished with a team-high 16 points while Stair (14), Djordje Dimitrijevic (12) and Ross Cummings (11) all scored in double figures. Mercer hit just 14-of-24 free throws in the contest, including 10-of-17 in the second half.
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Mercer trailed 40-37 at the half despite shooting 50 percent from the field (14-of-28) compared to Wofford's 37 percent. The difference in the first half proved to be Wofford's ability to get to the free throw line; the Terriers made 11-of-19 free throws while Mercer only attempted seven shots from the charity stripe, hitting four.
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Trailing by 15 points with three minutes left before the intermission, Mercer ended the first 20 minutes of play on a torrid 15-3 run to pull within three points. Stair tallied eight points during the run, including a pair of three-pointers, and Fardaws Aimaq added a buzzer-beating layup. It was all Wofford prior to the Bears' late rally, however. The Terriers hit seven first-half treys, including five by Nathan Hoover. Stair led the Bears with 10 points in the first half on 3-of-3 shooting from the field.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Senior Cory Kilby led the Bears in the scoring department with 16 points, falling just one shy of his career-high. He finished 5-of-8 from the field with two three-pointers and made all four of his free throw attempts.
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NOTABLES
- Mercer struggled behind the arc, shooting 7 for 23 (30.4%) on the night
- The Bears won the battle in between the blocks, outscoring the Terriers 35-26 in points in the paint
- Cory Kilby notched double-figures for the sixth time this season, coming one point shy of his career-high (17).
- Ross Cummings stretched his run of double-digit scoring to 13 straight games, putting up 11 on the night.
- Fardaws Aimaq flirted with a double-double, scoring seven points and grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds.
- Despite the score line, the Bears outshot the Terriers, 45.1 percent to 40.7 percent from the field.
Coach Bob Hoffman – "I thought Wofford played extremely well. We did a good job against them, other than the 11 threes they hit. We had opportunities, but the free throws really hurt us. We had multiple chances to tie or take the lead but we just could not get a basket to go in. And you've got to get ahead in those type of games and unfortunately we never did. This is a group of great young men who are trying really hard. We will need to find ways to have good mental pictures of what we need to do to get better."
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RECORDS UPDATE
» Mercer: 8-14 (3-7 SoCon)
» Wofford: 18-4 (10-0 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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