Saturday, March 9
Asheville, N.C.
8:30 p.m.
Mercer University
11-20,6-12SoCon
74
vs
85
Furman
25-6, 13-5SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
36
38
74
Furman
39
46
85
Team Stats
MER
FUR
FG%
.509
.500
3FG%
.250
.395
FT%
.778
.625
RB
28
33
TO
15
14
STL
10
8
Game Leaders
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Judy Stapleton
Mercer Falls 85-74 To Furman In SoCon Tourney Action
3/9/2019 11:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Furman’s Three Point Barrage Does Bears In
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Mercer wasn't able to overcome a three-point onslaught from Furman as the Bears fell 85-74 to the Paladins Saturday night in a quarter final game of the 2019 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship presented by General Shale at the U.S. Cellular Center.
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Third seeded Furman knocked down 15 three point baskets while sixth seeded Mercer managed just four from behind the arc. That 33-point differential was the deciding factor in the outcome of the game as the Paladins defeated the Bears for the third time this season and extended their winning streak to eight against Mercer.
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Jaylen Stowe, playing his final game in a Mercer Bears uniform, scored a team-high 16 points. Other Bears in double figures included Ethan Stair (13), Djordje Dimitrijevic (13), and Ross Cummings (10).
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Jordan Lyons led the Paladins with 25 points, making nine of 16 field goals, including seven of 13 from three point range. Andrew Brown had 14, Matt Rafferty scored 12, and Noah Gurley had 10.
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Furman jumped out to an early lead over the Bears, as the Paladins ran out to a nine-point advantage, 19-10, at the 12:21 mark of the opening half. Thanks to some nifty defense from Mercer Dimitrijevic, who had four first half steals, the Bears clawed their way back to cut the lead to one at 23-22 on a three point basket from Cummings with 6:28 remaining. Stair's running jumper at the 4:03 mark gave Mercer its first lead of the game, 29-28. Back to back three point goals by Furman's Lyons propelled the Paladins back out to a 37-31 lead. Mercer trailed 39-36 at intermission with Furman's eight three point baskets the difference in the outcome of the first half.
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Mercer came out strong in the second half and reclaimed the lead at 42-41 on a layup by Cummings at the 18:14 mark. With Mercer clinging to a 47-46 lead, the Paladins went on a 17-2 run to claim a commanding lead 63-49 lead with 11 minutes remaining. The Bears weren't able to recover and Furman went on to post the 85-74 victory and advance to Sunday's semifinal matchup against UNC Greensboro.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jaylen Stowe, playing in his final game as a Mercer Bear, scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Stowe was 6-10 from the floor and 4-5 from the free throw line.
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NOTABLES
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman - "Our guys played their tails off; they gave everything they had tonight against a fantastic team that is well-coached. They understand what they do and they do it well. I thought for a little while we had them off balance and had them thinking a little bit, which is good. Coach (Bob) Richey has done a great job with that team all year. I loved the energy and effort our guys gave tonight. They walked off that floor having given everything they had and I'm thankful I get to coach them. (The two seniors Cory Kilby and Jaylen Stowe) "These two are amazing young men and I'm grateful and thankful I've been able to coach them these past four years. They are going to be successful in everything that they do because of how they approach everything. It's hard in moments like this. These two are as good as I've ever coached. This isn't how we want Mercer basketball to be; we want to win and we want to compete for championships and we didn't do that this year. (On competing against the top teams in the league) "There were several games in which we had opportunities to beat some of these teams; we always are going to compete. I don't know how to do it any other way. Our guys worked hard every possession and we just fell a little bit short. (The future of the team) "With 10 new guys on the team this year, there was a lot of transition. All of these guys are going to grow and I believe we have some pieces that could put us in a good position for the future."
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Jaylen Stowe (On playing his final game) - "I just tried to leave it all out there. I was just trying to play as hard as I can and games like this you just have to live with the results and I felt like I did that today. There were a couple more plays I thought I should have made, but that's just part of the game."
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Cory Kilby (Playing again after an injury) - "It was great to be back out there. It was tough to sit out those games with my injury. I just wanted to compete and I felt like I did that. Coach put us in a position to compete with them and that's what we did."
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RECORDS UPDATE
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Third seeded Furman knocked down 15 three point baskets while sixth seeded Mercer managed just four from behind the arc. That 33-point differential was the deciding factor in the outcome of the game as the Paladins defeated the Bears for the third time this season and extended their winning streak to eight against Mercer.
Â
Jaylen Stowe, playing his final game in a Mercer Bears uniform, scored a team-high 16 points. Other Bears in double figures included Ethan Stair (13), Djordje Dimitrijevic (13), and Ross Cummings (10).
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Jordan Lyons led the Paladins with 25 points, making nine of 16 field goals, including seven of 13 from three point range. Andrew Brown had 14, Matt Rafferty scored 12, and Noah Gurley had 10.
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Furman jumped out to an early lead over the Bears, as the Paladins ran out to a nine-point advantage, 19-10, at the 12:21 mark of the opening half. Thanks to some nifty defense from Mercer Dimitrijevic, who had four first half steals, the Bears clawed their way back to cut the lead to one at 23-22 on a three point basket from Cummings with 6:28 remaining. Stair's running jumper at the 4:03 mark gave Mercer its first lead of the game, 29-28. Back to back three point goals by Furman's Lyons propelled the Paladins back out to a 37-31 lead. Mercer trailed 39-36 at intermission with Furman's eight three point baskets the difference in the outcome of the first half.
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Mercer came out strong in the second half and reclaimed the lead at 42-41 on a layup by Cummings at the 18:14 mark. With Mercer clinging to a 47-46 lead, the Paladins went on a 17-2 run to claim a commanding lead 63-49 lead with 11 minutes remaining. The Bears weren't able to recover and Furman went on to post the 85-74 victory and advance to Sunday's semifinal matchup against UNC Greensboro.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jaylen Stowe, playing in his final game as a Mercer Bear, scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed five rebounds, had two assists and two steals. Stowe was 6-10 from the floor and 4-5 from the free throw line.
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NOTABLES
- Mercer had 28 field goals, just two fewer than Furman. However, 15 of Furman's baskets were three pointers while Mercer connected on just four from behind the arc.
- Ethan Stair scored 13 points, had five rebounds and one steal.
- Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 13, had three boards and a game-high four steals.
- Freshman post man Fardaws Aimaq was a perfect 4-4 from the floor and 1-1 from the free throw line for nine points.
- Ross Cummings, who earned second-team All SoCon honors earlier this week, scored 10 points and had three assists.
- Mercer outscored Furman 42-28 in the paint.
- Mercer was outrebounded 33-28.
QUOTABLES
Coach Bob Hoffman - "Our guys played their tails off; they gave everything they had tonight against a fantastic team that is well-coached. They understand what they do and they do it well. I thought for a little while we had them off balance and had them thinking a little bit, which is good. Coach (Bob) Richey has done a great job with that team all year. I loved the energy and effort our guys gave tonight. They walked off that floor having given everything they had and I'm thankful I get to coach them. (The two seniors Cory Kilby and Jaylen Stowe) "These two are amazing young men and I'm grateful and thankful I've been able to coach them these past four years. They are going to be successful in everything that they do because of how they approach everything. It's hard in moments like this. These two are as good as I've ever coached. This isn't how we want Mercer basketball to be; we want to win and we want to compete for championships and we didn't do that this year. (On competing against the top teams in the league) "There were several games in which we had opportunities to beat some of these teams; we always are going to compete. I don't know how to do it any other way. Our guys worked hard every possession and we just fell a little bit short. (The future of the team) "With 10 new guys on the team this year, there was a lot of transition. All of these guys are going to grow and I believe we have some pieces that could put us in a good position for the future."
Â
Jaylen Stowe (On playing his final game) - "I just tried to leave it all out there. I was just trying to play as hard as I can and games like this you just have to live with the results and I felt like I did that today. There were a couple more plays I thought I should have made, but that's just part of the game."
Â
Cory Kilby (Playing again after an injury) - "It was great to be back out there. It was tough to sit out those games with my injury. I just wanted to compete and I felt like I did that. Coach put us in a position to compete with them and that's what we did."
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RECORDS UPDATE
- Mercer:Â (11-20, 6-12 SoCon)
- Furman :Â (25-6, 13-5 SoCon)
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