Bears Fall to St. Bonaventure, 56-51

Tuesday, November 26

Olean, N.Y.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

4-3,0-0SoCon

St. Bonaventure

2-4,0-0Atlantic 10

Mercer

St. Bonaventure

11/26/2019 10:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Ethan Stair picked up his fourth double-double of the season

By: Travis Rae

OLEAN, N.Y. – The Mercer men's basketball team was defeated 56-51 by St. Bonaventure in the Bears second game of the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life.

Ethan Stair led the Bears with 13 points and 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Maciej Bender was the only other player in double-figures for the Bears with 10 points. Mercer (4-3) shot 5-for-11 (45.5 percent) from the free throw line in the contest.

The Bears offense came out on fire to open the contest against the Bonnies (2-4). During the first four and a half minutes of the game, Mercer scored 12 of the 14 points. During the stretch, Bender led the way with four points. James Glisson III hit a three-pointer putting the Bears ahead by 10, 12-2, with 15:35 to go in the half.

Following the three pointer by Glisson III, the Bears did not score again until there was 6:39 left in the half. Daniel Love broke the scoreless drought by hitting two free throws. After the pair of free throws, Mercer only trailed by five, 19-14. Following the free throws, the Bears again went scoreless for four-minutes until a Bender layup. Mercer trailed 27-20 at halftime.

The Bears came out of halftime on fire again as they scored the first nine points of the half. Stair scored the last five including a three-pointer that put Mercer ahead, 29-27. Following the made three by Stair, the Bears and Bonnies traded buckets over the next five minutes.

With the Bears ahead by one, 35-34, Mercer hit back to back three-pointers taking a five-point lead, 41-36. The Bonnies did not go away as they battled back tying the game at 42-42. Over the final six minutes of the contest, the Bears and Bonnies traded leads six times and had the game tied three times.

After a jumper by Bender with 2:15 left in the game, the Bears led 51-50. However, the Bears would not score again and would be defeated by St. Bonaventure 56-51.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "There were a lot of positives that we could take out of this. It is not an easy place to play and they have a really good winning percentage here. We gave ourselves a chance to win and that's all you can ask. We have to have better execution down the stretch, and it comes down to a few possessions when it is close like this. You've got to get a rebound, you've got to get stop and that's what changed the thing. We competed and now we have to move on to let us win these close ones."

NOTABLES

Ethan Stair led recorded his fourth double-double of the season against St. Bonaventure. He entered the season with two career double-doubles.
Stair had his fourth double-digit rebound contest as he collected a team-high 11.
The Bears went 5-for-11 (45.5) percent in the contest against the Bonnies.
After committing ten turnovers in the first half, the Bears committed only two in the second half.
Mercer assisted on 11 of its 20 made field goals against the Bonnies.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Sunday, Dec. 1 when they play Canisius in Boca Raton, Fla. The Bears and Griffins will play at FAU and tip at 12 p.m. The contest is part of the Boca Raton Beach Classic.

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.