Stair Scores 1,000 Point In Win at Samford

Saturday, January 18

Birmingham, Ala.

3 p.m.

Mercer University

8-11,2-4SoCon

Samford

8-12,2-4SoCon

Mercer

Samford

Photo by: Jesika Moore

1/18/2020 6:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Bears win second straight contest with 90-75 win

By: Travis Rae

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mercer men's basketball player Ethan Stair became the 41^st player in program history to score his 1,000^th point as a Bear on Saturday afternoon. Stair led the Bears with 26 points and led Mercer to a 90-75 victory over Samford.

Stair hit his 1,000^th career-point with 19:36 on the clock in the second half, when he hit a three-pointer. He now has 1,017 career-points at Mercer, which ranks him 39^th in program history for scoring.

Djordje Dimitrijevic followed with 25 points on the afternoon. He tied his career-high with six made three-pointers in the contest. Jeff Gary and Kamar Robertson rounded out the double-figure scorers with 13 and 10 points respectfully. Mercer shot 55.7 percent from the floor, its best percentage for a single game all season.

The Bears and Bulldogs came out trading hoops and after the first three minutes of play, Mercer and Samford were tied at 5-5. With the game tied at 7-7, the Bears offense started clicking. After a jumper by James Glisson III, Mercer led by four, 11-7.

Samford came back taking a 12-11 lead but a three-pointer by Robertson put Mercer ahead 14-12. The Bears grew its lead to as high as six point. A Jumper by Logan Dye cut the Bears lead to two, 24-22.

Late in the first half, the Bears slowly extended its lead to 11, 42-31 after a three by Dimitrijevic. A minute after his three, Dimitrijevic hit another growing the Bears lead to 14, 45-31, with 1:26 left in the half. Dimitrijevic hit two more threes in the half and Mercer took a 19-point lead, 51-32, into halftime.

Opening the second half, Stair grew the lead to 22 after he hit a three-pointer for his 1,000^th career point as a Bear. Mercer's offense continued to click as they continued to stretch its lead over the Bulldogs. After Dimitrijevic hit three free throws, Mercer led by 30, 72-42.

The Bears continued to hold onto a 22-point lead, 81-59, with 7:17 left in the game. Mercer did not let the Bulldogs cut the lead under 20 points until there was 4:32 left in the game. The Mercer came away with a 90-75 victory for the Bears second straight win.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "Our guys came out right away and did a great job in the first half defending. I thought we did a good job on the defensive end and I did not realize we held Sharkey to two points. If you are playing defense that way and locked in your shots will fall and I thought our guys did a really good job sharing the basketball and moving it to get rhythm shots. Having Ethan score 1,000-points is great. It could not have happened to a better person, he has been a hard worker throughout the season and he gives you all he has."

NOTABLES

Ethan Stair became the 41^st 1,000 point scorer in Mercer history on Saturday afternoon after he scored 26 points.
For the third straight-game, Djordje Dimitrijevic scored over 25 points. Against Samford, Dimitrijevic scored 25 points.
This was the fourth contest in a row that Dimitrijevic scored 20 or more points.
For the second straight game, the Bears hit over 10 three-pointers. At Samford, the Bears went 12-for-25 on three-point attempts.
Jeff Gary scored 13 points off the bench for Mercer. The 13 points tied his career-high.
Djordje Dimitrijevic hit six three-pointers against the Bulldogs. This is the second straight game; he has hit six three-pointers.
Mercer shot 55.7 percent from the floor, its best percentage from the floor this season.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 22 when they host Western Carolina in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Hawkins Arena.

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.