Saturday, February 9
Macon, Ga.
4 p.m.
Mercer University
(8-16, 3-9)
61
vs
67
The Citadel
(11-12, 3-9)
1
2
F
The Citadel
26
41
67
Mercer
26
35
61
Team Stats
CIT
MER
FG%
.415
.355
3FG%
.320
.278
FT%
.652
.444
RB
40
40
TO
17
8
STL
4
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Bears Come Up Short 67-61 Against The Citadel
2/9/2019 6:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MACON, Ga. – Despite a career-high scoring effort from Ethan Stair, Mercer dropped a 67-61 Southern Conference decision to The Citadel Saturday afternoon at Hawkins Arena.
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Stair tallied 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the defeat. He was the only Bear to hit for double figures, as the Bears shot just 35.5% from the field, 28% from three point range and 44% from the free throw line. Graduate transfer Lew Stallworth led The Citadel with 27 points while Hayden Brown turned in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
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In the first half with the score deadlocked at 10-10, the Bears went on an 8-2 run to grab an 18-12 lead at the 8:42 mark. However, both teams found it tough to generate much offense in the opening period. Stallworth drained a three-pointer at the 1:18 mark to knot the score at 26-26. That's how the first 20 minutes ended, as Mercer shot just 32% from the field while The Citadel connected on just 38.5% from the floor.
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The offense picked up for both squads in the early stages of the second half. The Bears eased out to a 42-36 lead with 13:02 remaining on a layup from freshman post man Fardaws Aimaq. The Citadel proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to grab a 47-42 advantage as Mercer went ice cold shooting from the floor. The Bears went more than seven minutes without a field goal until Stair tallied a reverse layup at the 6:06 mark. Stair followed that up with a three pointer with 5:56 remaining as Mercer regained the lead 49-47. The Citadel then hit three consecutive three balls to jump back out in front 56-49 at the 4:40 mark.
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Mercer freshman Daniel Love converted a steal into a basket at the 2:53 mark to make it 56-52. Stallworth's three pointer with 1:46 left raised the lead to nine for the Bulldogs, 61-52. Mercer wasn't able to get any closer than six as The Citadel swept the season series with the 67-61 victory.
The afternoon featured a surprise for former Mercer backcourt great Langston Hall. One of the most decorated players in Mercer men's basketball history, Hall had his No. 21 jersey retired during the first media timeout of the second half. The ceremony coincided with the university's recognition of the 2013-14 team that returned to campus over the weekend to be honored for its outstanding accomplishments five years ago.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ethan Stair scored a career-high 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals. He was the lone Bear to score in double figures.
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NOTABLES
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "We had so many opportunities; we got ahead and missed free throw after free throw. We just didn't get it done. They started isolating (Lew) Stallworth and we tried to have some answers for him and we just didn't. They beat us soundly and they deserved the win tonight. (On retiring Langston Hall's jersey and having the 2013-14 team back) "It was great to have those guys back. What a deserving honor for Langston to have his jersey retired. That was an amazing team and it was special to have them back."
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RECORDS UPDATE
Mercer travels to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts Thursday, Feb. 14. Start time at the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET).
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.
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Stair tallied 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in the defeat. He was the only Bear to hit for double figures, as the Bears shot just 35.5% from the field, 28% from three point range and 44% from the free throw line. Graduate transfer Lew Stallworth led The Citadel with 27 points while Hayden Brown turned in a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Â
In the first half with the score deadlocked at 10-10, the Bears went on an 8-2 run to grab an 18-12 lead at the 8:42 mark. However, both teams found it tough to generate much offense in the opening period. Stallworth drained a three-pointer at the 1:18 mark to knot the score at 26-26. That's how the first 20 minutes ended, as Mercer shot just 32% from the field while The Citadel connected on just 38.5% from the floor.
Â
The offense picked up for both squads in the early stages of the second half. The Bears eased out to a 42-36 lead with 13:02 remaining on a layup from freshman post man Fardaws Aimaq. The Citadel proceeded to go on an 11-0 run to grab a 47-42 advantage as Mercer went ice cold shooting from the floor. The Bears went more than seven minutes without a field goal until Stair tallied a reverse layup at the 6:06 mark. Stair followed that up with a three pointer with 5:56 remaining as Mercer regained the lead 49-47. The Citadel then hit three consecutive three balls to jump back out in front 56-49 at the 4:40 mark.
Â
Mercer freshman Daniel Love converted a steal into a basket at the 2:53 mark to make it 56-52. Stallworth's three pointer with 1:46 left raised the lead to nine for the Bulldogs, 61-52. Mercer wasn't able to get any closer than six as The Citadel swept the season series with the 67-61 victory.
The afternoon featured a surprise for former Mercer backcourt great Langston Hall. One of the most decorated players in Mercer men's basketball history, Hall had his No. 21 jersey retired during the first media timeout of the second half. The ceremony coincided with the university's recognition of the 2013-14 team that returned to campus over the weekend to be honored for its outstanding accomplishments five years ago.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Ethan Stair scored a career-high 19 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had two steals. He was the lone Bear to score in double figures.
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NOTABLES
- Freshman guard Daniel Love came off the bench and provided the Bears with a spark, scoring four points and coming up with two steals.
- Freshman center Fardaws Aimaq scored six points and pulled down seven rebounds.
- Ross Cummings, Mercer's leading scorer and the Southern Conference's No. 4 scorer at 17.4 points per game, was held to just six points. That snapped a streak of 14 straight games in which Cummings had scored in double figures. Â
- Jaylen Stowe tied Stair and Aimaq for team high honors with seven rebounds.
- Mercer outscored The Citadel 32-24 in the paint and had 10 second chance points compared to the Bulldogs' one.
- Poor free throwing shooting hurt Mercer as the Bears connected on just 12-27 from the stripe (.444). Mercer entered the game hitting nearly 72% from the free throw line.
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman – "We had so many opportunities; we got ahead and missed free throw after free throw. We just didn't get it done. They started isolating (Lew) Stallworth and we tried to have some answers for him and we just didn't. They beat us soundly and they deserved the win tonight. (On retiring Langston Hall's jersey and having the 2013-14 team back) "It was great to have those guys back. What a deserving honor for Langston to have his jersey retired. That was an amazing team and it was special to have them back."
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RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (8-16, 3-9 SoCon)
- The Citadel :Â (11-12, 3-9 SoCon)
Mercer travels to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts Thursday, Feb. 14. Start time at the Liston B. Ramsey Regional Activity Center is set for 7 p.m. (ET).
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.
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