Men’s Basketball Hosts Furman in SoCon Opener

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team welcomes the Furman Paladins on Friday for their Southern Conference opener. This is the first conference game for both teams.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: December 20, 2019 | 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Furman (10-3) at Mercer (5-6)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer trails the all-time series, 17-10
• Current Streak: L8
• Last Meeting: L, 74-85 (Mar. 9, 2019)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball will welcome the Furman Paladins to Hawkins Arena to open SoCon play on Friday. This will open a three-game home stand for the Bears. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN3 and 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE PALADINS
Furman enters the contest against the Bears with a 10-3 overall record… The Paladins started the season 4-0 with their first loss coming from Alabama with a final score of 81-73… Furman's other two losses come from USF, 65-55, and Auburn, 81-78… The Paladins are averaging 79.7 points and allowing 64.2 points per game… The Paladins are shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from behind the arc… Furman is averaging 10.2 made three-pointers per game this season… The Paladins have hit 10 or more three-pointers in six games this season… Jordan Lyons leads the Paladins in scoring with 15.3 points per game…. Clay Mounce leads Furman in rebounding averaging 6.7 rebounds per game…. Furman was picked to finish third in the Southern Conference this season… Bob Richey leads the Paladins in his third season.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Dec. 16 against UNC Wilmington. The Bears defeated the Seahawks by a score of 72-63. Djordje Dimitrijevic led the way for the Bears with 23 points on the contest. The Bears shot 40.6 percent, while the Seahawks shot 41.4 percent from the floor in the contest. Ethan Stair led the Bears with a career-high 16 rebounds, while Maciej Bender had seven on the contest. Stair added 16 points for his sixth double-double of the season, which ranks 11thin in the nation. The Bears shot for 34.4 percent from behind the arc and 81.8 percent from the line.

STAIR SWEEPS SOCON AWARDS
The Bears Ethan Stair has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week and Student Athlete of the Week. In Mercer's lone game of the week, Stair scored 16 points and pulled down a career-best 16 rebounds in a 72-63 win at UNCW on Monday evening. The redshirt senior from Hazel Green, Alabama, was 6-for-13 from the floor and chipped in with four assists against just one turnover. Stair's double-double was his SoCon-best sixth of the season, while his rebound total was the most for the Bears since January 2016.Stair has reached double-digit rebounds in six of Mercer's 11 games so far and has scored at least 15 points in all but two.

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 10.3 rebounds per game and is second in scoring averaging 18.7 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)
Isaiah Bigelow (Wofford)              28           12/13/19 (North Greenville)

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 841 points in his career that spans 77 games, while Stair has scored 910 points in 96 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          910
                                Ross Cummings 841

BEARS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Over the first 11 games of the 2019-20 season, the Bears have made 80 three-pointers and are shooting 35.6 percent on threes. Mercer hit a season-high 12 three-pointers against St. John's. Mercer has hit 10+ threes in two contests this season, St. John's and UNCW. In the last contest for the Bears, Mercer shot 11-for-32 on threes, for 34.4 percent, which is the ninth game this season Mercer shot over 30 percent on three-pointers in a game this season.

STAIR SITS 11^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 six double-doubles in a single season. He opened the season with two straight double-doubles this year. The six double-doubles this year ranks 11^th in the nation and is the most in the SoCon.

PALADINS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Paladins rank fourth in the nation and second in the conference in made three-point field goals with 132. Furman has hit ten or more threes in six games this season. They hit a season-high 17 three-pointers in a 97-61 win over Elon and 15 against North Greenville. The Paladins are averaging 10.2 three-pointers a game. Clay Mounce leads the team with 29 threes on the season. Two other players have 20+ made three-pointers on the season, while five others have 10+ threes this season. Eight players have hit at least one three. They are shooting 36.3 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 169 career three-pointers. He is 21 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 169         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 Paladins, the Bears continue their home stand when the Florida Atlantic Owls come to Hawkins on Sunday, Dec. 22. The contest against FAU is set for 6 p.m.

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 Hosts Furman in SoCon Opener

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Players Mentioned

Maciej Bender

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

Ethan Stair

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