Mercer Falls to Furman, 64-62

Friday, December 20

Macon, Ga.

7:30 p.m.

Mercer University

5-7,0-1SoCon

Furman

11-3,1-0SoCon

Furman

Mercer

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

12/20/2019 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Maciej Bender scored a career-high 19 points against Furman

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – In a hard-fought Southern Conference opener, the Mercer men's basketball team fell to Furman, 64-62, on Friday night at Hawkins Arena.

Maciej Bender led the way for the Bears (5-7, 0-1 SoCon) with a career-high 19 points. Bender filled the stat sheet on Friday night as he led the team with 10 rebounds, for his second double-double of the season, and he had four blocks. Jeff Gary followed with 13 points and Ross Cummings added 12 points in the contest. Djordje Dimitrijevic dished out a career-high 10 assists.

After both teams came out struggling to score, the Bears jumped out to a seven-point lead, 9-2, after a Gary three-pointer. Over the next four minutes, Furman (11-3, 1-0 SoCon) bounced back and a three by Clay Mounce put the Paladins down two, 9-7.

Mercer stretched its lead to seven, 14-7, after a Cummings three with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half. Again, Furman answered back. They went on a 7-0 run tying the game at 14-14, with 7:52 before half.

The Paladins came back and took a seven-point lead, 27-20, with 3:12 to go before halftime. This time it was the Bears turn to answer. Mercer went on a 10-0 run that saw, Daniel Love, Bender, Dimitrijevic, and Gary score. Leading by three, 30-27, Jordan Lyons for Furman hit a three and the game went tied into halftime.

Coming out of half, the Bears scored the first five points on a Bender dunk and a three by Love. The Bears lead stayed within the three-four point range until 12:28 left in the game. Alex Hunter hit a layup that put the Paladins ahead by one, 44-43.

Mercer took the lead back on a layup by Bender. Following Benders layup, Cummings converted a four-point play extending the lead to five, 51-45. After Furman tied the game, the Bears took a four-point lead, 55-51, with 5:27 left in the contest.

With the four-point lead, the Bears went cold for a two and a half minute stretch. With 1:43 left, Mercer trailed 62-59, and Gary tied the game with a three-pointer. After a timeout, Furman came out and missed two shots; however, they got the offensive rebounds. Jordan Lyons came and hit a layup putting Furman ahead 64-62. The Bears had a great look to tie the game but the ball rimmed out. Mercer would fall to Furman 64-62.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "It gets to a point where we have to continue doing the little things, especially against a talented Furman team. They make you pay for your mistakes, and when we did, they made us pay. I loved our fight. We gave ourselves a chance to win and that's all we can ask. We have to go back and watch film and do some little things and execute better late in games. I'm very proud of the way our guys fought tonight."

NOTABLES

Maciej Bender scored a career-high 19 points on 9-of-16 shooting.
Bender filled the stat sheet against Furman. He collected 10 rebounds and had four blocks. This was his second career double-double.
Mercer shot 47 percent from the floor in the contest.
The Bears had eight three-pointers in the contest. Jeff Gary and Ross Cummings led the way with three three-pointers apiece.
For the eighth time this season, Mercer outrebounded their opponents. The Bears collected 32 rebounds on the night compared to 28 by Furman.
Djordje Dimitrijevic collected a career-high 10 assists in the game. He is the first Bears since Nov. 27, 2018, to have eight or more assists in a game. He was the last player to accomplish this feat.

UP NEXT
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.