Men’s Basketball Concludes the Boca Raton Beach Classic Monday

Boca Raton, Fla. – The Mercer men's basketball team concludes the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life on Monday, Dec. 2 when they face Holy Cross. The Bears and Crusaders contest will be the first meeting in program history between these two schools.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: December 2, 2019 | 11 a.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (4-4) vs. Holy Cross (0-7)
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 concludes its five game road trip on Monday, Dec. 2 when they wrap up play at the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life. The Bears will wrap up play against Holy Cross. The Bears and Crusaders tip at 11 a.m. ET on CUSA.TV and on 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE CRUSADERS
Holy Cross enters the contest against Bears with a 0-7 record… They are coming off a 91-69 loss to Hofstra in Boca Raton, Fla. as part of the Boca Raton Beach Classic… The contest against Hofstra was the first neutral site game of the year for the Crusaders… The Crusaders have dropped three games by under ten points this season; including losing by four, 87-83, at New Hampshire… Leading the way for the Crusaders are averaging 67.6 points per game while allowing 87.3 points per game… Drew Lowder leads the team in scoring as he averages 13.7 points per game… Joe Pridgen, Marion Hargis, and Austin Butler round out the double-figure scorers averaging 10.8, 10.3 and 10.1 points per game… Holy Cross is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor on the season… Holy Cross was picked to finish tenth in the Patriot League this season… They are under the direction of first-year coach Brett Nelson, who previously spent the last five years working on the Marquette University coaching staff.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Dec. 1 against Canisius. The Bears were defeated 76-66 in the contest. Ethan Stair picked up his third straight double-double and his fifth of the season against the Griffins. Stair led the team with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the contest. Mercer struggled to shoot the ball from distance in the contest, as they were 5-for-20 on three-pointers. The Bears had four players in double figures. Following Stair was Djordje Dimitrijevic with 16 points. Victor Bafutto scored a season-high 12 points and Maciej Bender added 10 points. The Bears shot 40.7 percent from the floor in the contents, however, the Griffins shot over 50 percent.

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 set his career-high with five 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 five double-doubles this year ranks fourth 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
Ethan Stair, 17 points and 10 rebounds, vs. Canisius, 12/1/19

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 862 points in 93 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          862
                                Ross Cummings 838

WINNING AT NEUTRAL SITES
On Monday, Dec. 2, the Mercer Bears will play its second regular season neutral site games. Monday's contest will be the second time this season the Bears can snap a six-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 eight games this season, Ethan Stair is leading the SoCon in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 19.8 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.

MATCHING UP AGAINST NEW OPPONENTS
Monday's contest will be the fourth time this season the Bears have matched up against a team for the first time in program history. Earlier this season, the Bears played St. John's, Columbia International, and Canisius, for the first time in program history. Mercer is 1-2 in these games. The Bears will look to even its record at 2-2 on Monday when they play Holy Cross for the first time in program history.

STAIR FROM DOWNTOWN
The Bears Ethan Stair has made 24 three-pointers this season, including six against Georgia Southern on Nov. 23. The six three-pointers are the second-most made in a single game in the SoCon this season. He is shooting 38 percent on three-pointers this season and has hit at two or more in every game this season but one. He did not hit a three-pointer against Columbia International this season. The most three-pointers Stair has hit in a season is 51, which he did last season in 31 games.

BOCA RATON BEACH CLASSIC
The Bears play its final game of the Boca Raton Beach Classic presented by Sport Changes Life on Monday 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 was defeated, 76-66, to Canisius on Sunday. Mercer will close out the Boca Raton Beach Classic against Holy Cross. 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, L, Canisius 76, Mercer 66 (Boca Raton, Fla.)
Monday, Dec. 2 vs. Holy Cross (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

BEARS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Over the first eight games of the 2019-20 season, the Bears have made 59 three-pointers and are shooting 36.9 percent on threes. Mercer hit a season-high 12 three-pointers against St. John's. This was the only game this season Mercer has hit 10 or more threes. In the last contest for the Bears, Mercer shot 5-for-20 on threes, for 25 percent, which is the first time this season Mercer shot under 30 percent on three-pointers in a game this season.

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 return to action on Saturday, Dec. 7 when they return to Hawkins Arena to face Georgia State. Tipoff will be set for 4:30 p.m. This will be the Bears first home contest since Nov. 15.

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.

Men’s Basketball Concludes the Boca Raton Beach Classic Monday

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Players Mentioned

Victor Bafutto

Maciej Bender

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

Ethan Stair

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