Thursday, February 21
Macon, Ga.
7 p.m.
Mercer University
(10-17, 5-10)
65
vs
62
Samford
(16-12, 6-9)
1
2
F
Samford
20
42
62
Mercer
38
27
65
Team Stats
SAM
MER
FG%
.345
.386
3FG%
.227
.364
FT%
.739
.750
RB
40
39
TO
14
13
STL
10
4
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
4
3FGM
4
FTM
3
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
4
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Holds On For 65-62 Victory Over Samford
2/21/2019 9:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cummings’ 23 and Stair’s Double-Double Lead The Bears
MACON, Ga. – Mercer's men's basketball team led from start to finish and held on to defeat Samford 65-62 Thursday night at Hawkins Arena. The victory gave the Bears a two-game sweep over Samford and also marked Mercer's 12th straight win over the Bulldogs.
Â
Ross Cummings led the Bears with 23 points, while Ethan Stair posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Freshman Luke Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-high 11. Josh Sharkey paced Samford with 24 points while Robert Allen and Ruben Guerrero pulled down 13 and 12 rebounds, respectively, for the Bulldogs.
Â
Mercer jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and extended the lead to 14 at 21-7 when Hamilton hit a three-pointer with 10:35 left in the opening half. Hamilton scored again at the 7:58 mark to put the Bears up by 17 at 24-7. The freshman from Austin, Texas sank another three with 5:44 remaining to give Mercer a 29-11 lead. Stair's three pointer with 4:32 left gave Mercer a 21-point lead, 32-11 - their largest lead of the game - and it appeared that the Bears might be on their way to a lopsided victory. Mercer took a commanding 38-20 advantage into halftime.
Â
Samford came roaring back in the second half, opening the final 20 minutes on a 14-6 run to cut the lead to 10, 44-34. Sharkey's layup at the 6:34 mark cut the lead to two, 52-50, but then Sharkey picked up a technical foul and Cummings connected on two free throws. Moments later Marcus Cohen, who had seven assists on the evening for the Bears, converted a three-point play to give Mercer a 57-50 advantage. Allen's dunk with 10 seconds remaining cut the lead to one, 63-62, but Stair hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left and Samford turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play and the Bears hung on for the 65-62 win. Â
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ethan Stair turned in his second double-double performance of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The junior from Hazel Green, Ala., hit four three point baskets and was 3-4 from the free throw line.
Â
NOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "Samford is likely the best three point shooting team in the league and they hit some big ones late. But, we had some success limiting that part of their game for the most part. Our guys made some plays at the end and we found a way to survive. (Josh) Sharkey is a pro; he's extremely quick, but we bothered him some. Our 3-2 zone helped us out at the end. I love that we were able to find a way to win; this was a big victory for us tonight. I'm thankful for this win and thankful for all the fans that came out here tonight. Ethan (Stair) was playing with a hurt ankle but he was unbelievable here tonight. He's an amazing, tough minded young man."
Â
RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer concludes a two-game SoCon home stand by hosting the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 4 p.m. Â
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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.
Â
Â
Ross Cummings led the Bears with 23 points, while Ethan Stair posted his second double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Freshman Luke Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-high 11. Josh Sharkey paced Samford with 24 points while Robert Allen and Ruben Guerrero pulled down 13 and 12 rebounds, respectively, for the Bulldogs.
Â
Mercer jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and extended the lead to 14 at 21-7 when Hamilton hit a three-pointer with 10:35 left in the opening half. Hamilton scored again at the 7:58 mark to put the Bears up by 17 at 24-7. The freshman from Austin, Texas sank another three with 5:44 remaining to give Mercer a 29-11 lead. Stair's three pointer with 4:32 left gave Mercer a 21-point lead, 32-11 - their largest lead of the game - and it appeared that the Bears might be on their way to a lopsided victory. Mercer took a commanding 38-20 advantage into halftime.
Â
Samford came roaring back in the second half, opening the final 20 minutes on a 14-6 run to cut the lead to 10, 44-34. Sharkey's layup at the 6:34 mark cut the lead to two, 52-50, but then Sharkey picked up a technical foul and Cummings connected on two free throws. Moments later Marcus Cohen, who had seven assists on the evening for the Bears, converted a three-point play to give Mercer a 57-50 advantage. Allen's dunk with 10 seconds remaining cut the lead to one, 63-62, but Stair hit a pair of free throws with three seconds left and Samford turned the ball over on the ensuing inbounds play and the Bears hung on for the 65-62 win. Â
Â
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ethan Stair turned in his second double-double performance of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The junior from Hazel Green, Ala., hit four three point baskets and was 3-4 from the free throw line.
Â
NOTABLES
- Ross Cummings tallied 23 points and pulled down six rebounds. Cummings hit four three point buckets and was 5-7 from the charity stripe.
- Freshman Luke Hamilton came off the bench to score a career-best 11 points, which included three baskets from behind the arc. Â
- Freshman center Fardaws Aimaq contributed four points and six boards coming off the bench.
- Marcus Cohen, the No. 5 assists man in the Southern Conference, had seven assists on the night for the Bears.
Coach Bob Hoffman – "Samford is likely the best three point shooting team in the league and they hit some big ones late. But, we had some success limiting that part of their game for the most part. Our guys made some plays at the end and we found a way to survive. (Josh) Sharkey is a pro; he's extremely quick, but we bothered him some. Our 3-2 zone helped us out at the end. I love that we were able to find a way to win; this was a big victory for us tonight. I'm thankful for this win and thankful for all the fans that came out here tonight. Ethan (Stair) was playing with a hurt ankle but he was unbelievable here tonight. He's an amazing, tough minded young man."
Â
RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (10-17, 5-10 SoCon)
- Samford :Â (16-12, 6-9 SoCon)
Mercer concludes a two-game SoCon home stand by hosting the University of Tennessee Chattanooga Saturday, Feb. 23. Tipoff time at Hawkins Arena is set for 4 p.m. Â
Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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.
Â
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 7 vs Princeton)
Monday, October 06
Mercer 45 | Samford 21 Post Game Press Conference 10//5/25
Sunday, October 05
Mercer Football 2025 | vs. Samford | Full Game Highlights
Sunday, October 05
Mercer Football Press Conference (Week 6 vs Samford)
Tuesday, September 30
