Bears Prepare for the Battle of I-75 With Georgia State

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team returns to Hawkins Arena for the first time since Nov. 15 when they host Georgia State on Saturday, Dec. 7. Tipoff at Hawkins Arena is set for 4:30 p.m. This will be the first meeting at Hawkins Arena since the 2011-12 season.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: December 7, 2019 | 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (4-5) vs. Georgia State (5-3)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Live Stats: MercerBears.com/LiveStats
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer leads the all-time series, 46-37
• Current Streak: L1
• Last Meeting: L, 62-60 (Nov. 13, 2018)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball returns to Hawkins Arena for the first time since Nov. 15 on Saturday, Dec. 7 when they host Georgia State. This will be the Bears fourth home game of the season. Tipoff is set for 4:30 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 PANTHERS
Georgia State enters the contest against the Bears with a 5-3 overall record… After starting the season 1-3, the Panthers are currently on a four-game winning streak, that includes wins over Prairie View A&M, California Baptist, Charlotte, and Dartmouth… The last win for the Panthers came on Dec. 3 against Dartmouth, 83-80… The Panthers are averaging 80.8 points and allowing 72.0 points per game… The Panthers are shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from behind the arc… Georgia State is averaging 7.6 made three-pointers per game this season… The Panthers have hit 10 or more three-pointers in three games this season… Over the last two games Georgia State has played, they have hit 11 and 12 three-pointers respectfully… Corey Allen leads the Panthers in scoring with 17.3 points per game… Four Panthers are scoring in double figures this season…. Damon Wilson leads the Panthers in rebounding averaging 5.0 rebounds per game; he averages 10.9 points per game…. Georgia State was picked to finish sixth in the Sun Belt Conference this season… Kane Williams was picked second-team Sun Belt this season… First-year head coach Rob Lanier leads the Panthers.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Dec. 2 against Holy Cross. The Crusaders defeated the Bears by a score of 81-67. Ethan Stair led the way for the Bears with 19 points and eight rebounds on the contest. The Bears shot 45 percent, while the Crusaders shot over 50 percent from the floor in the contest. James Glisson III scored 16 points and Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 11 to round out the double-figure scorers. The Bears struggled shooting from the outside as the Bears shot 26 percent (5-for-19) from behind the arc.

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.

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 eighth 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 third 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)
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)

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 881 points in 94 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          881
                                Ross Cumming   838

GEORGIA STATE IN MACON
The last time Georgia State came to Macon, Ga. was during the 2011-12 season. The Bears and Panthers met at Hawkins Arena during the CollegeIndsider.com Tournament Second Round. The Bears came away with a 64-59 victory on Saturday, March 17. The Bears were led by Justin Cecil with 19 points. Following the win for the Bears over the Panthers, Mercer went onto win the CIT Tournament.

PANTHERS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
The Panthers rank 175^th in the nation in made three-point field goals with 61. Georgia State is slowly starting to heat up from behind the arc. Over the past two games for Georgia State, the Panthers have hit 11 and 12 threes. Against Charlotte on Nov. 27, the Panthers shot 55 percent (11-for-20) on three-pointers. On Dec. 3 against Dartmouth, the Panthers shot 12-for-31 (38 percent) on three-pointers. This season, the Panthers have made ten or more three-pointers in three games, all of which were home games for Georgia State.

PLAYING ON SATURDAYS
The Bears will be playing its second game of the season on a Saturday, on Dec. 7. The Bears are 1-0 in Saturday contests this season. Mercer has 11 games left on Saturday's this season. Seven of those 11 games will be played at Hawkins Arena.

PICKING UP REBOUNDS
The Bears Ethan Stair leads the team in rebounding this season as he is averaging 9.9 rebounds per game. This also leads the Southern Conference in rebounding. His 9.9 rebounds per game average is the 28^th best mark in the NCAA this season. He has collected 75 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds 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

BEARS FROM BEHIND THE ARC
Over the first nine games of the 2019-20 season, the Bears have made 64 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-19 on threes, for 26 percent, which is the second straight game 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
Following the contest with the Panthers, Mercer returns to action on Monday, Dec. 16 when they travel to Wilmington, N.C. to face UNCW. Tipoff is set for 7 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.

Bears Prepare for the Battle of I-75 With Georgia State

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Players Mentioned

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

James Glisson III

Ethan Stair

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