Bears and Bonnies Meet in Boca Raton Beach Classic Action

Tuesday, November 26

Olean, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

St. Bonaventure

Bears and Bonnies Meet in Boca Raton Beach Classic Action

11/25/2019 10:29:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Mercer Game Notes

Bears and Bonnies set to square off for second time in program history

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team will play its second of four games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic on Tuesday Nov. 26 when they travel to St. Bonaventure. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Reilly Center in Olean, N.Y.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: November 26, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (4-2) at St. Bonaventure (1-4)
Location: Olean, N.Y. | Reilly Center
Live Stats: GoBonnies.sbu.edu
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer trails 1-0 in the series
• Current Streak: L1
• Last Meeting: L, 73-63 (Jan. 2, 1992)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball travels to Olean, N.Y. to face St. Bonaventure University for the second time in program history. The Bears and Bonnies will square off at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+. It will also be on the 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE BONNIES
St. Bonaventure enters the contest with the Bears with a record of 1-4 on the season… They are coming off a 61-57 loss to Canisius on Saturday, Nov. 23… St. Bonaventure is 0-2 on its home court this season… The Bonnies lone win came against Rutgers, 80-74, in Toronto… The Bonnies have been held to under 60 points in three of its five games… St. Bonaventure is averaging 62.8 points per game and is led by Kyle Lofton who is scoring 14.2 points per game… Dominick Welch and Justin Winston also average double-figures as they average 11.8 and 10.6 points per game respectfully… The Bonnies are shooting 38.6 percent from the floor and 28.2 percent from behind the arc… Amadi Ikpeze leads the team in rebounding as he collects 5.6 rebounds per game… The Bonnies are averaging 12.8 turnovers per game… They were picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic 10 this season… Kyle Lofton earned Second Team Preseason All-Conference honors while Osun Osunniyi earned Third Team Preseason All-Conference honors.

LAST TIME OUT
Mercer is coming off a 72-68 victory over UIC on Saturday. The win for the Bears was its first road win since Feb. 14, 2019. Ethan Stair and Maciej Bender picked up a double-double in the contest. Stair scored 24 points and had 13 rebounds, while Bender had 10 points and 11 rebounds. The 11 rebounds were a career-high for Bender. Mercer had two other players score in double-figures in the win. The Bears shot 40 percent from the floor, including hitting eight three-pointers. The Bears did not trail in the victory over the Flames. The Bears scored 34 of its 72 points in the paint against UIC.

PAIR OF BEARS LOCK UP A DOUBLE-DOUBLE
The Bears had two players, Maciej Bender and Ethan Stair pick up a double-double in the win over UIC on Saturday. Bender scored 10 points and collected 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Stair led the Bears with 24 points and 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The Bears have locked up five double-doubles this season, which is more than they had all of last season. The last time the Bears had two double-doubles in the same contest was Jan. 15, 2018 when they faced Chattanooga. Against Chattanooga, Stephon Jelks (10 pts and 12 rebs) and Desmond Ringer (14 pts and 10 rebs) picked up double-doubles.

SoCON PLAYER POINT HIGHS
For the second time this season, Ethan Stair set a career-high in points as he scored 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting at Georgia Southern. The 28 points are the second most in a game by a Southern Conference player this season. Below are the top five scoring games in the SoCon.

Player (School)                                 Points   Date (Opponent)
Jordan Lyons (Furman)                  33           11/19/19 (at Alabama)
Ethan Stair (Mercer)                       28           11/19/19 (at Georgia Southern)
Brandon Austin (Samford)           28           11/13/19 (UVa.-Wise)
Mason Faulkner (WCU)                 28           11/21/19 (Jacksonville)
Kaiden Rice (The Citadel)              27           11/23/19 (UVa.-Wise)

RACE TO THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
Both Ross Cummings and Ethan Stair are closing into on becoming the Bears 41st and 42nd 1,000-career scores in Mercer History. Which player will be the first to score 1,000 points? Cummings has scored 838 points in his career that spans 76 games, while Stair has scored 832 points in 91 games. Sitting in 40th on the 1,000-point club for Mercer is Dartez Talbott who scored 1,014 points in his career at Mercer, which stretched from the 1979-81 seasons. James Florence, who played for the Bears from 2006-10, is the all-time leading scorer as he scored 2,286 points. Florence is the only 2,000-point scorers in Mercer history. The list of players that Cummings and Stair are looking to catch is below.

1,000 Point Scorers (No. 36-40)
                Rk.         Name                    Pts
                36           Will Emerson     1,050
                T37         Jim Hearn            1,034
                T37         Reggie Elliott      1,034
                38           Rodney Kirtz       1,025
                39           Donnie Veal        1,023
                40           Dartez Talbott   1,014
                                Ross Cumming   838
                                Ethan Stair          832

WINNING ON THE ROAD
For the first time since, Feb. 14, 2019, the Bears won a road contest. Mercer's 72-68 win at UIC snapped a four-game losing streak on the road. On Tuesday night, the Bears will be looking for its second straight road win. The last time the Bears won back-to-back road games was Feb. 25, 2018, at Wofford (69-68) and then at Grand Canyon on March 14, 2019 (78-73). Mercer is currently 1-2 on the season playing on the road.

LEADING THE SOCON
Through six games this season, the Bears are leading the Southern conference in a few statistical categories. The Bears are the top rebounding margin team, are the best three-point percentage team and have made the most free throws in the SoCon. While leading the SoCon in these categories, the Bears also rank in the top 50 in the NCAA in free throws made and three-point field goal percentage. Below are the rankings and value for the Bears for these categories.

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage – 39.7 % (SoCon 1^st; NCAA 33^rd)
Free Throws Made – 93 (SoCon 1^st; NCAA 46^th)
Rebound Margin – 8.0 (SoCon 1^st, NCAA 48^th)

STAIR RANKS TOP 15 IN NCAA
The Bears Ethan Stair leads the Southern Conference and ranks 13th in the NCAA for double-doubles on the season. On Saturday, Nov. 23, Stair picked up his third double-double of the season. The three double-doubles are a career-high for a single season. He is tied with Kaelon Harris for the lead in the SoCon. Below are the double-double Stair has collected this season.

Ethan Stair, 23 points and 10 rebounds at St. John's, 11/6/19
Ethan Stair, 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Columbia International, 11/8/19
Ethan Stair, 24 points and 13 rebounds at UIC, 11/23/19

BOCA RATON BEACH CLASSIC
The Bears play its second of four games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life on Tuesday at St. Bonaventure. The Bears won its first game of the classic, 72-68, over UIC on Saturday in Chicago. The event will be held in conjunction with the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Games will be played on Sunday, Dec. 1 and Monday, Dec. 2 at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena, on the campus of FAU. The Bears schedule for the Boca Raton Beach Classic is as follows:

Saturday, Nov. 23, W, Mercer 72, UIC 68 (Chicago, Ill.)
Tuesday, Nov. 26 at St. Bonaventure (Olean, N.Y.)
Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Canisius (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Monday, Dec. 2 vs. Holy Cross or Hofstra (Boca Raton, Fla.)

MOVING ON UP!
Ross Cummings is closing in on the 1,000-point club but he is also climbing up the Mercer record books for made three-point field goals. During his junior season, Cummings hit 101 three-pointers, becoming only the second Mercer Bear to make 100 or more threes in a season. Prior to his junior year, the most threes, Cumming hit in a season was 57. For his career, he has hit 168 career three-pointers. He is 22 three-pointers away from tying for third all-time at Mercer. Below are the top five all-time leaders for Mercer for three-point field goals made. With his 168 made three-pointers, he is number three on the SoCon active career leader list.

3-Point Field Goals Made (Career)
                Name                   3-FGM Years
1.            Langston Hall      256         2010-14
2.            James Florence 242         2006-10
3.            E.J. Kusnyer        190         2008-10
4.            Ross Cummings 168         2016-Present
5.            Bud Thomas       161         2010-14

SOCON AGAINST THE ATLANTIC 10
The Bears will be the first team in the Southern Conference to face an Atlantic 10 team this season. The Bears square off with St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. The only other SoCon school to play an Atlantic 10 team this season is VMI when they travel to Duquesne on Dec. 4.

GREG GARY COACH'S SHOW
With the 2019-20 season underway, so is the Greg Gary Coach's Show. The 11-edition show will be streamed on Sportsmic Radio and the Mercer Men's Basketball Facebook page. The show is aired from Margaritas in Mercer Village from 6 to 7 p.m. The first show can be restreamed on the Mercer Men's Basketball Facebook page. The next Coach's Show will take part on Monday, Dec. 9.

SoCON CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2020 Ingles SoCon Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale will be held March 6-9 at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina. The 2020 edition of the tournament is the 100th for the nation's oldest collegiate conference basketball tournament.

UP NEXT
Following the contest with St. Bonaventure, the Bears head to Boca Raton, Fla. to play its final two games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life. The Bears take on Canisius on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 12 p.m. The Bears will play Dec. 2^nd against either Holy Cross or Hofstra.

How to 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.