Men’s Basketball Heads to UNCW In Non-Conference Action

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team heads to Wilmington, N.C. to face UNCW. This will be the Bears first appearance in Wilmington since the 1977-78 season. Mercer and UNCW met last season at Hawkins Arena.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: December 16, 2019 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (4-6) at UNCW (5-6)
Location: Wilmington, N.C. | Trask Coliseum
Live Stats: UNCWSports.com
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: FloHoops
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer trails the all-time series, 4-3
• Current Streak: W1
• Last Meeting: W, 77-73 (Dec. 21, 2018)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball will head to Wilmington, N.C. for the first time since 1977 to battle the UNCW Seahawks on Monday. This will be the Bears seventh road game of the season. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on FloHoops and 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE SEAHAWKS
UNC Wilmington enters the contest against the Bears with a 5-6 overall record… After starting the season 2-2, the Seahawks are currently on a three-game losing streak that includes losses to Boise State, Stanford, and Charlotte… The last win for the Seahawks came on. Nov. 26 against Emory and Henry College, 122-66… The Seahawks are averaging 73.8 points and allowing 71.0 points per game… The Seahawks are shooting 45.8 percent from the floor and 38.0 percent from behind the arc… UNCW is averaging 8.2 made three-pointers per game this season… The Seahawks have hit 10 or more three-pointers in four games this season… Jaylen Sims leads the Seahawks in scoring with 14.2 points per game and in rebounding averaging 5.6 rebounds per game…. UNCW was picked to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Association this season… C.B McGrath leads the Seahawks in his third season.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Dec. 7 against Georgia State. The Panthers defeated the Bears by a score of 73-61. Djordje Dimitrijevic and Victor Bafutto led the way for the Bears with 14 points each on the contest. The Bears shot 35.1 percent, while the Panthers shot 47.4 percent from the floor in the contest. Ethan Stair led the Bears with eight rebounds, while James Glisson III and Patrick Urey each had seven on the contest. The Bears shot for 35.7 percent from behind the arc and 69.6 percent from the line.

STAIR NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE MONTH
The Bears Ethan Stair has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Month. He becomes only the second Bear to earn this honor. The last Mercer player to win the award was Stephon Jelks, who earned the honor during the 2015-16 season. This past month of November, Stair averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He was the only player in the SoCon to average a double-double. He also set his career-high in points (28) and three-pointers made in a game (6) against Georgia Southern. In November, Stair had four double-doubles, which doubled his career-high.

STAIR RANKS TOP TWO
Ethan Stair ranks in the top two in scoring and rebounding in the Southern Conference this season. He leads the conference averaging 9.7 rebounds per game and is second in scoring averaging 19.0 points per game. These marks are career-highs for Stair.

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 fifth 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)
Mason Faulkner (WCU)                 31           12/03/19 (Chattanooga)
Kaiden Rice (Citadel)                       30           12/04/19 (ETSU)
Noah Gurley (Furman)                   29           12/08/19 (USC Upstate)
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)

LOOKING TO JOIN 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 894 points in 95 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          894
                                Ross Cummings 838

UNCW vs. MERCER
The last time UNC Wilmington and Mercer met was last season at Hawkins Arena. The Bears came away with a 77-73 win over the Seahawks. Ross Cummings led the Bears with 18 points, shooting 4-13 from beyond the arc. Mercer shot over 50 percent from the floor, going 27-51 in the contest. The Seahawks went 7-27 from beyond the arc in the contest. This was the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools. Before the matchup against UNCW last season, the Bears and Seahawks last meeting was on Dec. 17, 1977. Below are the previous matchups:

Mercer def. UNCW, 77-73 (Dec. 21, 2018)
UNCW def. Mercer, 80-60 (Dec. 17, 1977)
UNCW def. Mercer, 71-58 (Feb. 25, 1977)
UNCW def. Mercer, 75-64 (Jan. 8, 1977)
Mercer def. UNCW, 74-62 (Feb. 9, 1976)
Mercer def. UNCW, 93-70 (Jan. 14, 1966)
UNCW def. Mercer, 83-76 (Dec. 17, 1964)

MERCER AGAINST NC SCHOOLS (Non-Conference)
Since the 2013-14 season, Mercer is 7-3 in non-conference contests against schools from the state of North Carolina. The biggest win over a school from North Carolina during this span was when the Bears defeated Duke in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Below are the nine games against NC Schools:

Mercer def. Johnson & Wales, 109-56 (Nov. 20, 2013)
Mercer def. St. Andrews, 98-56 (Dec. 27, 2013)
Mercer def. Duke, 78-71 (March 21, 2014)
Mercer def. St. Andrews, 62-33 (Dec. 2, 2014)
Davidson def. Mercer, 77-71 (Nov. 23, 2015)
Mercer def. Appalachian State, 71-70 (Nov. 27, 2015)
Mercer def. East Carolina, 70-66 (Nov. 25, 2016)
Davidson def. Mercer, 78-57 (Dec. 29, 2016)
NC State def. Mercer, 78-74 (Nov. 24, 2018)
Mercer def. UNCW, 77-73 (Dec. 21, 2018)

BEARS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Over the first ten games of the 2019-20 season, the Bears have made 69 three-pointers and are shooting 35.8 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-14 on threes, for 35.7 percent, which is the eighth game this season Mercer shot over 30 percent on three-pointers in a game this season.

STAIR SITS 14^th In the NATION
Over his first three years as a Bear, Ethan 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 14^th in the nation and is the most in the SoCon.

SEAHAWKS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Seahawks rank 39^th in the nation in made three-point field goals with 90. UNCW has hit ten or more threes in four games this season. They hit a season-high 17 three-pointers in a 113-53 win over N.C. Wesleyan and 15 against Emory and Henry College. Both contests were at UNCW. The Seahawks are averaging 8.2 three-pointers a game. Jaylen Sims leads the team with 29 threes on the season. Only two other players on the team have over 10 threes this season. Eleven players have hit at least one three. They are shooting 38.0 percent on three-pointers this season.

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

GREG GARY COACH'S SHOW
The Greg Gary Coach's Show is underway from Margaritas in Mercer Village. 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. Starting Jan. 6^th, the third Coach's Show of the year will run weekly.

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 the Seahawks, the Bears return home to open Southern Conference play on Friday, Dec. 20 when the Paladins of Furman come to Hawkins Arena. The contest against Furman opens a three-game homestand for the Bears.

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 Heads to UNCW In Non-Conference Action

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Victor Bafutto

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

James Glisson III

Ethan Stair

Patrick Urey

Footer

Mercer University Athletics