Mercer Downs VMI, 69-66

Saturday, January 25

Lexington, Va.

1 p.m.

Mercer University

10-11,4-4SoCon

VMI

6-16,1-8SoCon

Mercer

VMI

Photo by: Randall K. Wolf / VMI

1/25/2020 4:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Bears win fourth straight Southern Conference win

By: Travis Rae

LEXINGTON, Va. – The Mercer men's basketball team won its fourth straight contest on Saturday afternoon as they defeated VMI, 69-66, in the Ingles SoCon Game of the Week.

With the win, the Bears move to 10-11 on the season and 4-4 in SoCon play. VMI falls to 6-16 on the season and 1-8 in conference play.

Djordje Dimitrijevic led the Bears scoring 25 points in the win. This is his sixth straight contest scoring over 22 points. Fifteen of Dimitrijevic's 25 points came from behind the arc. Kamar Robertson followed with 16 points, which tied his career-high. Jeff Gary added 11 points to round out the double-figure scorers. Mercer hit 11 three-pointers in the win, seven coming in the second half.

Over the first four minutes of the contest, VMI and Mercer struggled to score. A three by Dimitrijevic put Mercer ahead, 5-2. Less than a minute later, VMI tied the game at 5-5. Following a scoreless minute stretch, the Keydets scored the next four points taking a 9-5 lead.

VMI continued to hold onto the lead until Dimitrijevic hit a three-pointer with 11:23 to go in the first half. The three-pointer put the Bears ahead 14-12. However, VMI came back and took the lead and a three by Robertson put the lead by one, 17-16.

Robertson's three-pointer sparked the Bears offense, which started a 10-0 run putting the Bears ahead by eight, 24-16. Over the final five minutes of the half, VMI trimmed the lead down to three, 28-25, heading into the locker room.

The Keydets tied the game at 31-31 coming out of halftime. Over the next five minutes of the game, Mercer stretched the lead up to five-points on multiple times but the Keydets would not go away quietly. After the Bears led, 37-32, VMI scored the next five points tying the game at 37-37.

Again, Mercer stretched its lead out to seven points, 44-37, after an Ethan Stair layup. The Bears would hold onto the lead for four minutes but the Keydets stormed back and took a 51-49 lead over Mercer after a layup by Greg Parham.

Over the next few minutes of the game, the lead would go back and forth. With VMI leading, 57-56, Dimitrijevic hit a three-pointer putting Mercer head 59-57, with 3:18 to go. VMI continued to come back and tied the game at 59-59 and 61-61.

With the game tied, Robertson hit a huge three-pointer with 1:26 left in the game putting Mercer ahead, 64-61. A minute later, Dimitrijevic extended the Bears lead to six, 67-61, after a three-pointer. VMI would get as close as three points in the final 20 seconds but Mercer came away with a 69-66 victory for its fourth straight win.

QUOTABLES
Coach Greg Gary – "The three-pointers towards the end of the game by Kamar and Djordje were huge in the contest. I am glad they have the confidence to take those shots. At the end of the game, Djordje made one heck of a play. He has been playing so well of late, I want the ball in his hands."

NOTABLES

Saturday's win over VMI was the fourth straight victory for the Bears. The win put the Bears at 4-4 in SoCon action.
Djordje Dimitrijevic led the Bears with 25 points. This was his sixth straight game scoring over 20 points.
Kamar Robertson tied his career-high with 16 points in the win over the Keydets. He shot 6-of-10 from the field.
For the third time in four games, the Bears hit 10 or more three-pointers. On Saturday, the Bears hit 11-of-22 three-pointers.
Mercer got hot in the second half from behind the arc. Mercer shot 7-of-12 (58.3 percent) from behind the arc in the second half.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when they travel to Johnson City, Tenn. to face ETSU in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from Freedom Hall Civic 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.