Bears Move to 4-0 with 88-62 Victory Over CIU

Saturday, December 5

Macon, Ga.

10:00 AM

Mercer University

4-0,0-0SoCon

Columbia International

0-2

Columbia Int'l

Mercer

Photo by: Alex Keller

Bears Move to 4-0 with 88-62 Victory Over CIU

12/5/2020 12:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Maciej Bender set the Hawkins Arena for field goal percentage, going 9-of-9,

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears overcame a slow start to top Columbia International, 88-62, and move to 4-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 season.

Mercer (4-0) came out of the gates slowly as the Rams of Columbia International held the advantage for the first portion of the opening half. Trailing 18-11, the Bears used a 7-0 run over 3:04 to tie the contest with 9:14 until halftime. Crafty point guard Neftali Alvarez provided the spark for the run, hitting a pair of fast break layups before Maciej Bender, who shot 9-of-9 on the day and set the Mercer record for field goal percentage in Hawkins Arena (min. eight made) converted a layup, followed by a free throw 24 seconds later.

The Bears took the lead for good with 6:07 to go in the opening half when Leon Ayers III, who provided a timely spark off the bench early in the contest, hit a layup on the break. Less than 20 seconds later, Ayers III scored again before Ross Cummings quickly hit a pair of shots, including a three-pointer, to make it a 28-22 contest in favor of the home squad.

Columbia International, which considered the game an exhibition contest, battled to keep Mercer's lead in single digits. The Bears took their first double-digit lead of the morning via a three-pointer from Alvarez with 1:41 on the clock before Ayers III scored the final five points of the half for the Bears. At the intermission, Mercer led, 42-29.

Jeff Gary, Alvarez and Bender each scored to open the second half, helping Mercer take a 20-point lead, 49-29, via the 7-0 run. Despite the run, the Rams of CIU never quit, and it would not be until the 7:52 mark of the last half that the Bears extended their lead to 25 points thanks to a Bender slam. Mercer's advantage hit 30 thanks to a pair of free throws from Alvarez. The Orange & Black's largest lead came courtesy of a triple from freshman guard Jovan Tucker. Tucker drained the three from the right wing to make it an 84-51 contest.

Columbia International ended the game on an 11-2 run, but Mercer picked up the 88-62 victory to move to 4-0 overall.

Mercer was led by Bender's 19 points. The Warsaw, Poland native caught fire from the floor, going 9-of-9. Ayers III nearly tied his career-high with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting while Alvarez also contributed 16 points. The Bears shot over 50 percent in both halves, making 17-of-32 attempts (53.1 percent) over the opening half before shooting a stellar 17-of-29 (58.6 percent) in the final half. After connecting on a mere 2-of-9 three-pointers from downtown in the first half, the team found its rhythm over the final 20 minutes, making 7-of-12 to end the night 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from deep. For the third time this season, the team recorded over 20 assists in game, ending the morning with 21.

Columbia International caught fire out of the gate, hitting four of its first six three-pointers, but the Rams substantially cooled off, shooting only 25-of-57 (43.9 percent) for the game. After the initial four makes from beyond the arc, CIU went just 5-of-21 for the remainder of the game and 9-of-27 (33.3 percent) overall. Julio Rodriguez led the Rams with 17 points.

Greg Gary Quotables

ON THE GAME
"The first half was lethargic to say the least. We have to have more energy. I don't care what time of day we play. It doesn't matter who we play. We're at our best when we share the ball, and I think [everyone] saw that the second half."

ON MACIEJ BENDER
"He had a size advantage, so we tried to go to him early because that's where our advantage was. He shots it well from the floor today. He has to shoot more free throws and keep practicing."

ON LEON AYERS III AND JOVAN TUCKER PROVIDING A DEFENISVE SPARK
"Leon gives us good length defensively, and Jovan came in and helped us too. I thought our defensive intensity was not there early, so when I subbed those guys in, they gave us a spark."

ON JOVAN TUCKER
"He has a lot of talent, it's just a matter of him getting experience. I think he has progressed, and I look for him to continue progressing. The more minutes we can get for him the better because there is a lot of talent there."

ON THE QUICK TURNAROUND
"We'll give [our guys] the afternoon off before focusing on Southern Wesleyan. It's a quick turnaround. Southern Wesleyan is a very good team. [The Warriors] are an NCAA Division II team and have a lot of talent."

NOTABLES

The Bears have begun the season 4-0 for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign. A win against Southern Wesleyan tomorrow would move Mercer to 5-0 for the first time since 1966-67.
Bender went 9-for-9 rom the floor, setting a new Hawkins Arena record for field goal percentage (min. eight made). Desmond Ringer (10-of-11, .909) previously held the record, which he set against Wofford in Jan. 2016.
A season-high 16 players saw time in the game.
Drew Thomas, Mitch Prendergast, Victor Bafutto and John Treanor all made their season debuts.
Alvarez was in double figures for the fourth time in as many games.
Bender and Alvarez both tied their career-highs in points.

UP NEXT
The Bears will return to action tomorrow afternoon when they welcome the Southern Wesleyan Warriors to town. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN+ and the Mercer Sports Network (100.9 The Creek, SportsMic).

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.