Bears Set For Hoops & Heroes Night Against VMI

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team returns to Hawkins Arena on Wednesday night for Hoops & Heroes Night as they host VMI. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

All military, police, officers, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics will receive free admission to the game. This includes active/reserve/guard/veteran and retirees. To sign up for the tickets, click here. Tickets can be picked up at the ticket office prior to the game.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: Jan. 15, 2020 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: VMI (5-13, 0-5 SoCon) at Mercer (6-11, 0-4 SoCon)
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, 10-3
• Current Streak: L1
• Last Meeting: L, 84-71 (Feb. 28, 2019)

OPENING TIPOFF
Mercer Men's Basketball returns to action on Wednesday, Jan. 15 when they host VMI in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 7 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 KEYDETS
VMI enters the contest with the Bears with a 5-13 record and a mark of 0-5 in Southern Conference action… The Keydets have dropped its last six games of the season… They have not won a game since the calendar turned to 2020… The last win for the Keydets came on Dec. 11, 2019, when they defeated Ferrum, 78-60… As a team, VMI is averaging 73.3 points per game and they are shooting 43.6 percent from the floor… They have attempted a SoCon leading 536 three-pointers on the season… They are shooting 37.5 percent on three-pointers… Leading the team in scoring is Travis Evee as he is averaging 13.2 points per game… Kamdyn Curfman (11.1 ppg) and Garrett Gilkeson (10.6 ppg) round out the double-figure scorers…. The Keydets have four players who have hit 20 or more three-pointers on the season, led by Curfman with 51… VMI is allowing 68.8 points per game this season and are shooting 43.9 points per game… VMI is led by Dan Earl, who is in his fifth season at the helm.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was Saturday, Jan. 11 at Western Carolina. The Bears were looking to be the first team to beat the Catamounts in the Ramsey Center this season, however, the Bears came up short as they were defeated 79-71. Djordje Dimitrijevic had a career-night as he scored a career-high 34 points. He hit two three-pointers extending his three-pointers in a game streak to 15 straight. The Bears went 21-for-24 from the free throw line in the loss.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR THE BEARS
After only picking up four double-doubles during the 2018-19 season, the Bears have recorded 11 double-doubles this season. Four different players have recorded a double-double this season. Below are the Bears that have recorded double-doubles. Ethan Stair leads the way with seven double-doubles.

Name                                    Double-Doubles               Last Double-Double
Ethan Stair 7 12/28/19 vs. Milligan
Maciej Bender 2 12/20/19 vs. Furman
Djordje Dimitrijevic 1 11/11/19 vs. Kennesaw State
Victor Bafutto 1 12/28/19 vs. Milligan

DIMITRIJEVIC CAREER NIGHT
In the Bears last contest, senior Djordje Dimitrijevic had a career-night. He scored 34 points on 10-of-19 shooting, which was a career-high. This was the first time he has scored over 30 points in his career as a Bear. His previous high was 25 points, which happened at NC State during his junior season. Dimitrijevic became the first Bear to score 30 or more points since Feb. 23, 2019, when Ross Cummings scored 37 points against Chattanooga.

BEARS WINNERS OF FIVE OF THE LAST SIX
Over the last six matchups between Mercer and VMI, the Bears have won five of the last six meetings. The lone loss for the Bears was last season on Feb. 28, 2019, when VMI snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bears over the Keydets.

FIRST SOCON WIN
The Bears and Keydets enter the contest on Wednesday night with both looking for its first Southern Conference win of the season. The Bears are 0-4 in SoCon play, while the Keydets are 0-5. All four of the Bears losses in SoCon play have been by less than nine points. VMI has lost three games by 10 or fewer points this season.

HOW MANY STRAIGHT GAMES WITH A THREE?
Six SoCon student-athletes have streaks of at least 13 games with a made three-pointer. The Bears Djordje Dimitrijevic has made a three-pointer in 15 straight games, while Ross Cummings has followed with a three in 13 straight games. Dimitrijevic is the third-longest streak in the SoCon. The SoCon leader for consecutive games hitting a three-pointer is Brandon Allen of Samford. He is currently at 19 straight games hitting a three-pointer.

Player (School)                                 Streak
Brandon Austin (Samford)           19
Alex Hunter (Furman)                    16
Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)     15
Kaiden Rice (The Citadel)              14
Matt Halvorsen (WCU)                  14
Ross Cummings (Mercer)             13

MERCERS LAST SoCON WIN
The last win for the Bears in SoCon action came against Chattanooga on Feb. 23, 2019. In the contest against the Mocs, Ross Cummings scored a career-high 37 points leading the Bears to a come from behind 79-69 victory. Cummings connected on 12 of 22 field goals, including eight of 14 three-pointers, and was five of seven from the free-throw line. Mercer outscored the Mocs 40-27 in the second half and ended the game on a 24-13 run. The Bears have lost five straight SoCon games.

TEN OR MORE THREES IN A GAME
The Bears have made ten or more three-pointers in three games this season. The most three-pointers Mercer has hit in a single game was 14 against Milligan. Below are the games that Mercer connected on ten or more three-pointers.

Date      Opponent                           3-pt FG Made
11/6       at St. John's                        12
12/16     at UNCW                             11
12/28     Milligan                                14

FIRST MEETING BETWEEN MERCER AND VMI
The first-ever meeting between the Bears and Keydets happened on Dec. 9, 2006, in Lexington, Va. Mercer came away with a 105-103 victory. Mercer had five players scoring in double-figures led by Shaddean Aaron and James Florence, who both had 21 points. Calvin Henry collected 22 rebounds in the contest. Henry and Brian Pfohl each had a double-double in the contest. Mercer shot 57.5 percent from the floor in the first-ever meeting.

VMI ON THE ROAD
Wednesday will mark the eighth road game of the season for the Keydets. Currently, they are 0-7 on the road. Under coach Earl, who has led VMI for five years, the Keydets are 7-60 on the road.

LOOKING TO JOIN 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 860 points in his career that spans 79 games, while Stair has scored 979 points in 102 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          979
                                Ross Cummings 860

HITTIING 20 OR MORE FREE THROWS
At Western Carolina, the Bears went 21-of-24 from the free throw line. This was the second time this season the Bears have made 20 or more free throws in a game. The first time it happened this season was vs. Kennesaw State on Nov. 11, 2019.

GREG GARY COACH'S SHOW
The Greg Gary Coach's Show is underway from Margaritas in Mercer Village. 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 next Greg Gary Coach's Show will be on Monday, Jan. 20^th.

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
The Bears return to action on Saturday, Jan. 18 when they travel to Birmingham, Ala. to face Southern Conference opponent Samford. Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. ET from the Pete Hanna Center.

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 Set For Hoops & Heroes Night Against VMI

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Players Mentioned

Victor Bafutto

Maciej Bender

Ross Cummings

Djordje Dimitrijevic

Ethan Stair

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