Bears Second Half Comeback Falls Short

Wednesday, January 1

Greensboro, N.C.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

UNCG

1/1/2020 10:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer shot 53.2 percent from the floor against UNCG

By: Travis Rae

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Shooting 53.2 percent from the floor, the Mercer Bears second half comeback fell short to UNCG on Wednesday evening. The Spartans came away with a 72-63 victory over Mercer.

Ethan Stair led the hot shooting Bears with 18 points. Djordje Dimitrijevic followed with 17 points. As a team, Mercer shot 53.2 percent from the floor, the second highest percentage on the season. Mercer outrebounded the Spartans, 35-31, in the game.

The Spartans raced out to an early 7-0 lead over the Bears with 17:58 left in the first half. After a jumper by Stair, which put the Bears on the board, UNCG extended its lead to 12 points, 14-2. The Bears trimmed the lead down to eight 14-6 after a Jeff Gary jumper.

After UNCG grew the lead to 11, Gary scored five straight points getting the Bears within six points, 17-11, with 10:14 left in the first half. Following the jumper, the Bears went cold for a three-minute span. The Bears had the lead down to 10 with 3:49 left in the first half but the Spartans closed the half on a 15-7 run and the Bears trailed 43-25 at halftime.

Over the first four minutes of the second half, Mercer trimmed its 18-point deficit down to 10. During the stretch, Stair scored five points. With 13:13 left in the second half, a jumper by Dimitrijevic got the Bears within nine, 51-42.

Mercer continued to attack and a minute later, Gary grabbed a defensive rebound and came up the court. He found Daniel Love who knocked down a three-pointer putting the Bears down six, 53-47. Mercer cut the lead down to four, 55-51, after a Dimitrijevic layup.

UNCG answered and grew the lead back to nine points, 60-51, with nine minutes remaining in the game. Over the next four minutes, the Bears held the Spartans scoreless and Mercer scored the next six points. Stair capped it off by hitting a jumper in the paint putting Mercer down three, 60-57.

Following the bucket by Stair, Mercer's offense saw one more made field goal for the remainder of the game, which came with 3:36 left when James Glisson III hit a jumper. After a pair of free throws by Patrick Urey, the Bears trailed by three, 64-61. However, Mercer could not get any closer and would fall to UNCG, 72-63.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "I was happy with the way they came back in the second half. We were more aggressive and attacking better off that press. We did not do that in the first half. We cut it down and then we made turnovers."

NOTABLES

Mercer shot 53.2 percent from the floor in the contest against the Spartans.
Ethan Stair scored 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He has scored in double-figures in 14 of the Bears 15 games this season.
Mercer outrebounded the Spartans 35-31 in the contest.
The Bears shot 60 percent from behind the arc, as they were 6-for-10 against UNCG.
With one three-pointer tonight at UNCG, Djordje Dimitrijevic has made one three-pointer in 13 straight games.

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:
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