Men’s Basketball Heads to Boca Raton to Face Canisius

Sunday, December 1

Boca Raton, Fla.

12 p.m.

Mercer University

Canisius

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

Men’s Basketball Heads to Boca Raton to Face Canisius

11/30/2019 12:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Mercer Game Notes

Bears and Golden Griffins to square off for first time in program history

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team is set to take on Canisius College on Sunday, Dec. 1 in the third game of the Boca Raton Beach Classic, presented by Sport Changes Life. The Bears and Golden Griffins will play at 12 p.m. from FAU Arena in Boca Raton, Fla.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: December 1, 2019 | 12 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (4-3) vs. Canisius (3-2)
Location: Boca Raton, Fla. | Abessinio Court at FAU Arena
Live Stats: FAUSports.com
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: CUSA.TV
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: First meeting between these two programs
• Current Streak: N/A
• Last Meeting: N/A

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball travels to Boca Raton, Fla. to play in the final two games of the Boca Raton Beach Classic, presented by Sport Changes Life. The Bears open play against Canisius before playing Holy Cross or Hofstra. The games on Dec. 1 and 2 will be streamed on CUSA.TV and on 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN GRIFFINS
Canisius enters the contest with the Bears with a record of 3-2 on the season… They are coming off a 94-64, victory over UIC on Tuesday, Nov. 26… This will be the Golden Griffins first neutral site game of the season and the fourth game played away from its home court… Canisius has won its last three contests after starting the season 0-2… Canisius was picked seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)… Over the first five games of the season, the Golden Griffins are averaging 72.6 points per game and are allowing 72.0 points per game…. They have a trio scoring in double-figures led by Malik Johnson who is averaging 15.5 points per game… Jacco Fritz leads the team averaging 5.8 rebounds per game… Canisius is shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 35.6 percent on three-pointers… The Golden Griffins hit a season-high 15 threes in the win over UIC on Nov. 26… The Golden Griffins are averaging 17.8 turnovers per game… Malik Johnson earned Preseason All-MAAC Second Team honors and was the only player from Canisius to earn a preseason honor.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Nov. 26 when they were defeated, 56-51, by St. Bonaventure in Olean, N.Y. In the contest, the Bears Ethan Stair picked up his fourth double-double of the season. It was his second straight game with a double-double. In the first half of the contest, Mercer led 12-2 before the Bears went cold and the offense went 10 minutes without scoring. After hitting two free throws, the Bears went cold for another four minutes. The Bears battled back in the second half against the Bonnies and held a lead of 41-36. Over the final, six minutes of the game, the Bears and Bonnies traded leads six times and the game was tied three times. With 2:15 left, Mercer led 51-50, however, they would not score again. Mercer would be defeated 56-51.

DOUBLE THE FUN
The Bears Ethan Stair has been doubling the fun this season. Over his first three years as a Bear, Stair collected two double-doubles, which both came during his junior season. This season, he has doubled his career-high with four double-doubles in a single season. Over the past two games for Mercer, Stair has picked up a double-double. He opened the season with two straight double-doubles this year. The four double-doubles this year ranks eighth in the nation and is the most in the SoCon.

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
Ethan Stair, 13 points and 11 rebounds, at St. Bonaventure, 11/26/19

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 845 points in 92 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
                                Ethan Stair          845
                                Ross Cumming   838

WINNING AT NEUTRAL SITES
On Sunday, Dec. 1, the Mercer Bears will play its first of two regular season neutral site games. Sunday's contest will be the first time this season the Bears can snap a five-game neutral site-losing streak. The last neutral-site victory for Mercer came on Nov. 18, 2017, when they defeated Drexel, 78-59. Besides the Boca Raton Beach Classic, the Bear will play neutral site games when they travel to Asheville, N.C. in March for the SoCon Tournament.

STAIR LEADING THE PACK
Through seven games this season, Ethan Stair is leading the SoCon in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He is the only player in the Southern Conference averaging a double-double this season. Besides points and rebounds, Stair leads the SoCon in double-doubles. This season, Stair has recorded four 20 point games, including scoring a career-high 28 points at Georgia Southern. Stair also leads the SoCon in 20 points and 10 rebound games this season with two.

COMMON OPPONENTS
The Bears and Golden Griffins have each played St. Bonaventure and UIC this season. Canisius is 2-0 against those opponents while Mercer is 1-1. Both of the matchups for each school came on Nov. 23 and Nov. 26. The Golden Griffins defeated the Bonnies, 61-57, and UIC 94-64. The Bears defeated UIC, 72-68, before falling 56-51 to the Bonnies.

OPPONENTS FROM DISTANCE
Over the first seven games of the season, the Bears are holding opponents to shoot 36.8 percent from behind the arc. In the last game, Nov. 26, the Bears held St. Bonaventure to 4-of-16 shooting from behind the arc. However, three teams have hit ten or more three-pointers against the Bears this season. Columbia International (13-for-31), Georgia Southern (12-for-29) and UIC (11-for-33) hit ten or more three-pointers. The Bears first opponent in Boca Raton Fla. is Canisius, who hit a season-high 15 three-pointers at UIC on Nov. 26. Before hitting 15 against the Flames, the Golden Griffins previous season-high for threes in a contest was six.

BOCA RATON BEACH CLASSIC
The Bears play its third of four games in the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life on Sunday in Boca Raton, Fla. The Bears won its first game of the classic, 72-68, over UIC on Nov. 23 in Chicago. On Nov. 26, the Bears were defeated by St. Bonaventure, 56-51, in the second game. Mercer will face Canisius and either Holy Cross or Hofstra in the final game. 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, L, St. Bonaventure 56, Mercer 51 (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 IN NEUTRAL SITE GAMES
The Southern Conference has only played two neutral site games this season and they are 1-1 in the contest. Both contests were played by The Citadel.

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
The Bears will play either Holy Cross or Hofstra on Dec. 2 to conclude the Boca Raton Beach Classic at FAU Arena. Following the Boca Raton Beach Classic, the Bears will host Georgia State on Saturday, Dec. 7^th at Hawkins Arena.

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.