Men’s Basketball Wins Third Straight

Friday, November 15

Macon, Ga.

7:30 p.m.

Mercer University

3-1,0-0SoCon

Florida Gulf Coast

0-4,0-0ASUN

FGCU

Mercer

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

11/15/2019 11:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer defeated FGCU, 84-68, on Friday night

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team extended its winning streak to three on Friday night at Hawkins Arena. The Bears defeated Florida Gulf Coast University, 84-68, in the first meeting since March 9, 2014.

Four players scored in double-figures for the Bears led by Djordje Dimitrijevic with 19 points. Freshman James Glisson III followed with a career-high 18 points. Daniel Love scored 16, a career-high, and Ethan Stair rounded out the double-figure scorers with 15 points. Stair led the Bears with nine rebounds in the contest as he just missed out on his third double-double of the season.

FGCU scored the first two points of the contest but their lead only lasted five seconds as Ethan Stair put the Bears on the board with a three-pointer. The three-pointer started a 17-0 run for the Bears that was capped by an old-fashion three-point play by Victor Bafutto.

Following the first field goal for FGCU, which came with 13:09 left in the first half, The Bears led by 13, 17-4. The Bears slowly stretched the lead to 21 points, 31-10, after a layup by Dimitrijevic. Mercer extended the lead to as many as 24, 46-22, before the Eagles scored the final five points of the half. Mercer took a 46-27 lead into halftime.

Over the first three minutes of the second half, a Love layup grew the lead to 26 points, 55-29. The Bears continued to hold a 20-point lead until midway through the second half. Over a four-minute stretch, the Eagles trimmed the Bears lead down to 14, 69-55.

Mercer responded by going on a 12-4 run taking its lead to 22 points, 81-59, after a Glisson III jumper. With a lead of 21-points, 84-63, the Eagles scored the final five points of the game but Mercer came away with an 84-68, victory.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "I thought we played really well defensively in the first half. We knew their guards were their strengths and we wanted to limit them from getting downhill."

NOTABLES

In the first meeting between since 2014, the Bears extended its winning streak to two, over FGCU following the win.
The Bears trailed once in the contest, 2-0, before leading the remainder of the game.
James Glisson III scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. This is his first double-figure scoring game of the season.
This is the first time since March 9, 2019, the Bears have shot over 50 percent in the game. Mercer shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the victory over FGCU.
Mercer had four players score in double-figures for the first time since March 9, 2019.
Mercer scored 46 of its 84 points in the paint. The 46 points in the paint are the most scored in the paint in a single game this season.
The Bears trailed for only five seconds in the victory over FGCU on Friday night.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 19 when they travel to Statesboro, Ga. to face Georgia Southern. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Follow the Bears:
For complete coverage of Mercer 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.