Bears Remain Undefeated with 86-69 Win Over Panthers

Monday, November 30

Macon, Ga.

7:00 PM

Mercer University

3-0,0-0SoCon

Georgia State

2-1,0-0Sun Belt

Georgia St.

Mercer

Photo by: Alex Keller

Bears Remain Undefeated with 86-69 Win Over Panthers

11/30/2020 10:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

This is Mercer’s first 3-0 start since the 2015-16 campaign.

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears remained undefeated with an 86-69 win over in-state rival Georgia State on Monday night. The win marks the first time since the 2015-16 campaign that Mercer has started 3-0.

Georgia State was ranked No. 6 in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll while the Bears received 31 votes in the latest rankings, which were released Monday evening.
The Bears (3-0) and Panthers exchanged the lead multiple times through the first half, but with less than nine minutes remaining in the opening half, the momentum swung towards Mercer where it remained for the duration of the contest.

A Felipe Haase three-pointer with 8:51 remaining cut Georgia State's lead to 22-21, and moments later the Orange & Black took the lead for good off an old-fashioned three-point play. A pair of layups by James Glisson III, sandwiched between a jumper from Jacksen Greco, pushed Mercer's lead to 30-22, its largest of the opening half, however, the Panthers pulled within five at the break, 32-27.

Georgia State (2-1) would get no closer than a bucket in the second half, and by the first media timeout the Bears led by seven, 52-45, after a Neftali Alvarez layup. Mercer's first double-digit lead of the final half came courtesy of a Shannon Grant layup just prior to the 14-minute mark.

The two squads traded three-pointers after that, with both of the Bears' coming from the hot-shooting Haase, who ended the night 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Georgia State battled to pull within seven, 72-65, with just 6:11 to go, but Mercer would respond, taking a double-digit advantage off a Ross Cummings three-pointer with 4:50 left in the contest.

Mercer embarked on a 9-0 run over 2:26 late in the contest thanks to five points from Leon Ayers III, a layup from Haase and a pair of free throws from Alvarez, to extend its lead to 20 points, its largest of the contest. Georgia State scored a meaningless bucket with six seconds left, but when the final horn sounded, Mercer pulled out an impressive 86-69 win, its third double-digit victory in as many games.

The Bears placed four in double figures and were led by Ayers III and Haase with 17 points each. Ayers III's 17 points are a career-high while Haase tied his career-best for the second consecutive contest. Alvarez contributed 16, and Cummings, despite a cold first half, ended the night with 11 points. Haase led the Bears with seven rebounds, and Ayers III dished out a career-best five assists. Mercer held a sizable advantage on the glass, 51-31, its largest margin of the season.

The Bears hit an impressive 47.8 percent (32-of-67) shots from the field, including 11-of-26 attempts from downtown. Mercer was consistent from three-point range in both halves, going 5-of-13 in the opening 20 minutes and 6-of-13 in the second half. The Bears struggled from the charity stripe, making only 11 of their 20 tries.

Georgia State was led by Kane Williams' 18 points, yet the Bears held Williams to just 33 percent (6-of-20) from the floor and 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. Evan Johnson and Justin Roberts each scored 10 for the Panthers. Georgia State shot a cool 36.8 percent (21-of-58) from the field and made just 27.8 percent (5-of-18) of its three-point tries.

Greg Gary Quotables

ON THE DEPTH
"I told the team that the guys who didn't play against Georgia Tech they needed to be ready at any point in the season. I thought they gave us really good minutes. You have to learn to adjust to the game [and not get into foul trouble]. I though the bench gave us outstanding minutes"

ON LEON AYERS III
"He knows how to score the ball. He has a good feel [for the game]. When he can start playing defense like he's capable of, he gives us a good boost. He grabbed some big offensive rebounds down the stretch."

ON JEFF GARY'S EFFORT DEFENSIVELY
"He's doing a great job. You can count on him to do his job and to come up with those loose balls because he does have some toughness, and he wants to win. I am proud of him in that regard. His offense and his shooting will come."

ON FOUL TROUBLE
"We have to learn how to play without fouling. We're putting our hands on people without moving our feet. Georgia State puts teams in that position because it has downhill drivers and guys that get to the rim. It was not the prettiest game, but it is always nice to win when it's not really pretty."

ON FELIPE HAASE'S THREE-POINT SHOOTING
"He has a great stroke. He puts defenses in a bind because not only can he shoot the ball, but he can really pass the ball. He can always find the open guy and make the right play."

HIS MESSAGE TO THE TEAM
"It's okay to not play great and still win. I thought we did that because we showed some toughness and made plays when we needed to. I thought our bench was outstanding and gave us a good boost."

ON THE UPCOMING GAME AT ELON
"They're very good. Mike [Schrage] does a good job, and he is a really good coach. Elon will fight you and be tough [to beat]."

NOTABLES

The Bears began the season 3-0 for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.
As of Monday night, the Bears are receiving 31 votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.
The victory over Georgia State's is Mercer's first triumph over the Panthers since Mar. 17, 2012 when it posted a 64-59 win in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
The 17 point win is Mercer's largest margin of victory of the season and third double-digit point triumph.
For the third time this season, Mercer had four players score in double figures.
The Bears outrebounded State, 51-31. The +20 margin is their largest of the contest.
Through three games, Mercer is shooting 32-of-76 from three-point range. The Bears have knocked down 10+ three's in two-of-three games.

UP NEXT
Mercer will leave the state of Georgia for the first time when it travels to Elon for a 7 p.m. tip on Thursday night. The game can be seen live on FloHoops or head on the Mercer Sports Network with Rick Cameron on the call.

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.