Mercer Men's Hoops Announces SoCon Slate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference office announced the league's men's hoops schedule today which features an 18-game, double-round-robin slate for the Bears and each of their SoCon opponents.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, SoCon schools have been granted the latitude to shift game dates if needed, pending the approval of Directors of Athletics and the league office.

"The Southern Conference schedule is always challenging," stated second-year head coach Greg Gary. "The league has so many quality teams, which means we have to bring our best night in and night out. Each conference game is a battle, but our staff and players are excited for the test and thankful for the opportunity to play."

Gary's Bears will begin conference play against the Wofford Terriers on Dec. 30 in Hawkins Arena. Mercer swept the Terriers in a pair of matchups last season.

The Bears' first road trip is scheduled for the second day of 2021 when they travel to Greenville, S.C. to face the Furman Paladins. A win would give Mercer 10 victories over the South Carolina based school.

The Citadel will visit Hawkins Arena on Jan. 6 before the Bears make a Saturday trip to North Carolina to visit UNCG on Jan. 9 The trek to Greensboro marks the start of a two-game road trip in which the Bears will also travel to Tennessee to take on the Chattanooga Mocs (Jan. 13).

Following a midweek home contest against Western Carolina (Jan. 16), the Bears will travel to The Citadel on Jan. 20.

Mercer will play back-to-back Southern Conference games in Hawkins Arena for the first time when it welcomes VMI (Jan. 23) and Samford (Jan. 27) to historic Macon. The Bears swept both the Keydets and Bulldogs in Gary's first season at the helm.

Mercer is scheduled to conclude January with its second game against Wofford as it travels to Spartanburg, S.C. to battle the Terriers. To begin February, the Bears will welcome the defending Southern Conference Regular Season and Tournament Champions East Tennessee State to Hawkins Arena (Feb. 3).

Mercer will play back-to-back road games for the second and final time when they travel to the states of Virginia and Alabama to face VMI (Feb. 5) and Samford (Feb. 10). The Bears' contest with the Keydets is the only Southern Conference battle slated for a Friday as the league typically plays its games on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

On Feb. 13, the Orange & Black will host UNCG before seeking a win at ETSU for the second consecutive season on Feb. 17. Last year, the Bears traveled to Johnson City and became the only school to knock off the Bucs on their home floor thanks to four scorers in double figures, including Maciej Bender (14 points) and perfect night from the floor from Victor Bafutto who scored 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting.

Two of the Bears' final three league games will take place inside Hawkins Arena. Mercer will host the Furman Paladins on Feb. 20, the first of two consecutive home games. On Feb. 24, the Chattanooga Mocs will visit Macon.

To close out the Southern Conference regular season slate, Gary and the Bears will make the trip to Cullowhee, N.C. to take on the Western Carolina Catamounts on Feb. 27.

The Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship presented by General Shale will be held March 5-8 at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville in Asheville, N.C., with Monday's championship game airing on ESPN or ESPN2 at 7 p.m.

The broadcast schedule and tipoff times for the 2020-21 season will be announced at a later date. Each of Mercer's home contests, and all Southern Conference games, will air on ESPN3 or ESPN+.

Ticket information, seating charts and COVD-19 protocols for Hawkins Arena are still being determined and will be announced closer to the start of the season.

2020-21 SoCon Schedule

DATE	OPPONENT	LOCATION
Dec. 30	WOFFORD	Macon, Ga.
Jan. 2	Furman	Greenville, S.C.
Jan. 6	THE CITADEL	Macon, Ga.
Jan. 9	UNCG	Greensboro, N.C.
Jan. 13	Chattanooga	Chattanooga, Tenn.
Jan. 16	WESTERN CAROLINA	Macon, Ga.
Jan. 20	The Citadel	Charleston, S.C.
Jan. 23	VMI	Macon, Ga.
Jan. 27	SAMFORD	Macon, Ga.
Jan. 30	Wofford	Spartanburg, S.C.
Feb. 3	EAST TENNESSEE STATE	Macon, Ga.
Feb. 5	VMI	Lexington, Va.
Feb. 10	Samford	Birmingham, Ala.
Feb. 13	UNCG	Macon, Ga.
Feb. 17	East Tennessee State	Johnson City, Tenn.
Feb. 20	FURMAN	Macon, Ga.
Feb. 24	CHATTANOOGA	Macon, Ga.
Feb. 27	Western Carolina	Cullowhee, N.C.
Mar. 5	Southern Conference First Round	Asheville, N.C.
Mar. 6	Southern Conference Quarterfinals	Asheville, N.C.
Mar. 7	Southern Conference Semifinals	Asheville, N.C.
Mar. 8	Southern Conference Championship	Asheville, N.C.

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Players Mentioned

Victor Bafutto

Maciej Bender

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