Mercer Heads to Greensboro to Ring in the New Year

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team will ring in the new year in Greensboro, N.C. when they play UNCG on Jan. 1 in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Greensboro Coliseum.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: Jan. 1, 2020 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (6-8) at UNCG (11-3)
Location: Greensboro, N.C. | Greensboro Coliseum
Live Stats: UNCGSpartans.com
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer leads the all-time series, 8-6
• Current Streak: L2
• Last Meeting: L, 74-47 (March 2, 2019)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball returns to Southern Conference action on Wednesday, Jan. 1 when they travel to Greensboro, N.C. to face UNCG. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+ and 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
UNCG enters the contest with the Bears with an 11-3 overall record and a 1-0 mark in the SoCon… The Spartans have won three straight games and are ranked seventh in the College Insider MidMajor Top 25 Poll… The Spartans are averaging 72.4 points per game and are shooting 43.6 percent from the floor… UNCG is outscoring its opponents by 17.7 points per game as they are only allowing opponents to score 54.7 points per game… Opponents are shooting 38.4 percent from the floor… The Spartans have the fifth-best scoring defense in the NCAA; only Virginia (ACC), Liberty (ASUN), Sacramento State (Big Sky) and Butler (Big East) have a better mark…. Leading the scoring attack for the Spartans is SoCon Preseason Player of the Year Isaiah Miller…. Miller is averaging 16.3 points per game while shooting 43.2 percent from the floor… He is also collecting 4.8 rebounds per and 3.0 assists per game… Kaleb Hunter is the only other player in double-figures averaging 10.8 points per game… James Dickey leads the team averaging 8.3 rebounds per game… UNCG is forcing its opponents into 18.5 turnovers per game… They are led by Wes Miller, who enters his ninth season at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was Saturday, Dec. 28 when they faced Milligan College. Mercer came away with a 104-52 victory. The Bears saw seven players score in double-figures, led by Ethan Stair, who had 17 points. Stair picked up his seventh double-double of the season as he also collected 10 rebounds. Victor Bafutto recorded his first double-double of his career with a 13 point and 12 rebound performance. The 12 rebounds is a career-high for Bafutto. The Bears shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the win.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR THE BEARS
In the win over the Buffs of Milligan, the Bears added to its double-double count. The Bears have registered 11 double-doubles on the season with four players recording a double-double. During the 2018-19 season, Mercer had four double-doubles. This season, Ethan Stair leads the team with seven, which leads the SoCon and ranks 12^th in the NCAA. He is three behind the leaders. Maciej Bender has recorded two and Victor Bafutto, and Djordje Dimitrijevic have one apiece. The double-doubles by Bender, Bafutto and Dimitrijevic this season were the first of their careers.

MERCER vs. UNCG
The Bears and Spartans have a small history against each other. The first game between the two programs came on Jan. 5, 1981. Mercer came away with an 88-65 victory in Macon, Ga. The next matchup between the two schools came on Nov. 29, 1986. Mercer leads the all-time series, 8-6 over the Spartans.

MERCERS LAST WIN OVER UNCG
Mercer is looking to snap a two-game losing streak to the Spartans. The Bears last victory over UNCG came on Feb. 17, 2018. Mercer defeated the Spartans, 77-74 in Hawkins Arena. In the contest, Jordan Strawberry scored a season-high 27 points and Ross Cummings had 23 leading the Bears to a comeback victory. Mercer trailed by nine points with 13:49 left in the game to come back and win.

HOW MANY STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A THREE?
Nine SoCon student-athletes have streaks of at least 10 games with a made three-pointer. The Bears Ross Cummings and Djordje Dimitrijevic has made a three-pointer in 13 and 12 straight games respectfully. Cummings is tied for the fourth-longest straight in the SoCon, while Dimitrijevic rankings sixth. The SoCon leader for consecutive games hitting a three-pointer is Brandon Allen of Samford. He is currently at 16 straight games hitting a three-pointer.

Player (School)                                 Streak
Brandon Austin (Samford)           16
Kyrin Galloway (UNCG)                 14
Kamdyn Curfman (VMI)                14
Ross Cummings (Mercer)             13
Clay Mounce (Furman)                  13
Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)      12
Alex Hunter (Furman)                    12
Kaiden Rice (The Citadel)              11
Matt Halvorsen (WCU)                  11

SoCON PLAYER POINT HIGHS
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)

SOCON SCHEDULE
Once Jan. 1 hits the Bears have 17 games remaining for the 2019-20 regular season. The Bears will be in Southern Conference play for the remainder of the season. The Bears will be at Hawkins Arena eight more times on the season. Mercer returns to action on Jan. 4^th at Hawkins Arena against Chattanooga.

BAFUTTO'S BIG GAME
Redshirt sophomore Victor Bufatto had a big game against the Buffaloes of Milligan on Dec. 28. Against Milligan, Bafutto finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double. The 12 rebounds were a career-high for Bafutto.

BEARS FROM DOWNTOWN
Against Milligan, the Bears hit a season-high 14 three-pointers; which included six different players hitting a three. This was the third time this season the Bears have hit 10 or more three-pointers in a single game. The other times the Bears hit 10 or more was against St. John's (12) and UNCW (11).

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 860 points in his career that spans 79 games, while Stair has scored 948 points in 98 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          948
                                Ross Cummings 860

HITTING THREES
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 173 career three-pointers. He is 17 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 173 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 173         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 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
The Bears return to action on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they return to Hawkins Arena to face Chattanooga. Tipoff is set for 4:30 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.

Mercer Heads to Greensboro to Ring in the New Year

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Players Mentioned

Victor Bafutto

Maciej Bender

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

Ethan Stair

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