Mercer Heads to Chattanooga in Critical SoCon Matchup

Saturday, February 22

Chattanooga, Tenn.

4:30 p.m.

Mercer University

Chattanooga

Photo by: Ben Murray

Mercer Heads to Chattanooga in Critical SoCon Matchup

2/21/2020 1:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Mercer Game Notes Chattanooga Notes

The Bears and Mocs are tied in the standings with three games to go

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team heads to Chattanooga for a critical Southern Conference matchup on Saturday. The Bears and Mocs are tied at 8-7 in the SoCon with only three games to play.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: Feb. 22, 2020 | 4:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (14-14, 8-7 SoCon) at Chattanooga (17-11, 8-7 SoCon)
Location: Chattanooga, Tenn. | McKenzie Arena
Live Stats: GoMocs.com
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN3
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer trails in the the all-time series, 41-39
• Current Streak: L1
• Last Meeting: L, 70-61 (Jan. 4, 2020)

OPENING TIPOFF
The Mercer men's basketball team returns to action on Saturday in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Southern Conference match is set to tipoff at 4:30 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN3, 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE MOCS
Chattanooga enters the contest with the Bears holding a 17-11 overall record and a 8-7 mark in the Southern Conference… The Mocs have won three of their last four games… The only loss for Chattanooga during the stretch was at Furman on Feb. 15… Chattanooga is coming off a 91-68 win at The Citadel on Wednesday… The Mocs are averaging 72.8 points per game and shooting 45.2 percent from the field… They are making 8.7 three-pointers per game this season…. Chattanooga has made 10 or more three-pointers in 11 games this season… They hit a season high 17 threes against Samford on Jan. 11… Matt Ryan leads the team in scoring as he is averaging 15.8 points per game… Ryan has hit a team-high 74 three pointers this season… Besides Ryan, the Mocs have two players David Jean-Baptiste (12.6 ppg) and Ramon Vila (12.5 ppg) averaging double-digits… Opponents are averaging 68.4 points per game against Chattanooga… Opponents are shooting 44.9 percent against the Mocs, including 31.4 percent on three-pointers… Chattanooga is allowing opponents to make 6.5 three-pointers per game. Chattanooga is led by third-year head coach Lamont Paris.

LAST TIME OUT
The Mercer men's basketball shot 61.1 percent from the floor en route to its 14th consecutive victory over the Samford Bulldogs. The Bears defeated the Bulldogs, 106-66. Leading the Bears on the night was redshirt-sophomore Jeff Gary. Gary shot 12-of-16 from the floor and connected on 8-of-10 three-pointers. He scored a career-high 32 points and also set a new career-best with eight treys. Djordje Dimitrijevic picked up his second career double-double with 21 points and 10 assists.

DIMITRIJEVIC THREE-POINT STREAK
Djordje Dimitrijevic made a three-pointer against Samford and now has hit a three-pointer in 25 straight games. This is the longest streak in the SoCon. Matt Ryan of Chattanooga, who has made a three-pointer in 17 straight games, holds the second-longest streak in the SoCon for made three-pointers.

Player (School)                                 Streak
Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)     25
Matt Ryan (Chattanooga)             17
Fletcher Abee (Citadel)                  14
Nathan Hoover (Wofford)            14
Ross Cummings (Mercer)             13

SHOOTING OVER 60 PERCENT
The Bears were on fire on Wednesday night in the victory over Samford. Mercer shot 61.1 percent (44-of-72) from the floor. In the first half of the contest, Mercer shot 65.5 percernt. This was the second time this season Bears shot 60 percent for a game. The other time the Bears shot over 60 percent from the floor in a win over ETSU.

MARGIN OF VICTORY FOR MERCER
On Wednesday night, the Bears defeated Samford by 40 points, 106-66. This was the largest margin of victory over a D1 opponent this season. The 40-point margin of victory was the largest victory in a Southern Conference game for Mercer since joining the SoCon.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES FOR Dimitrijevic
Senior Djordje Dimitrijevic picked up his second career double-double in the victory over Samford. He scored 21 points and had 10 assists in the contest. His first double-double of the season came on Nov. 11 against Kennesaw State when he scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds. Dimitrijevic's double-double was the Bears' 16th double-double of the season.

STAIR CLIMBING UP THE SCORING RANKS
Ethan Stair joined the 1,000-point club in in Birmingham, Ala. on Jan. 18 when the Bears defeated Samford, 90-75. He now has 1,125 points in his career and is sitting at No. 24 in program history. In the contest against Samford on Wednesday, Stair passed increased four spots and moved into the 24th spot on the all-time leading scorers list for Mercer. Below are the players he is looking to catch over the next few games. James Florence, who played for the Bears from 2006-10, is the all-time leading scorer as he scored 2,286 points. Florence is the only 2,000-point scorer in Mercer history.

1,000 Point Scorers (No. 20-24)
                Rk.         Name                                    Pts
                20.          Robert Belloir                     1,155
                21.          Jakob Gollon                      1,153
                22.          Wesley Duke                      1,141
                23.          Brian Mills                           1,138
                24.          Ethan Stair                          1,125

STAIR CLOSING IN ON TOP TEN REBOUNDING SEASON
Senior Ethan Stair has collected 246 rebounds during the 2019-20 season. He is 18 rebounds shy of tying Benton Wade and Woodrow Richardson for ninth single-season most in Mercer Basketball history.

DROPPING DIMES
In the win on Wednesday night, the Bears recorded 30 assists in the game setting a new school record. The previous mark was 28 assists in a single contest, which was set at Valparaiso during the 2013-14 season. It is the third time this year, the Bears have recorded 20 or more assists. Nine different Bears' picked up an assist en route to 30 as a team. Djordje Dimitrijevic led the way with 10 as he tied his career-high.

HOT SHOOTING JEFF GARY
In the win over Samford on Wednesday, Jeff Gary had a hot hand. He set a career-high with eight made three-point field goals. He hit four in the first half and four more in the second half. The eight three-pointers tied a Hawkins Arena record. He was 8-for-10 on shooting from behind the arc. Besides setting a career-record on three-point field goals, Gary shot 12-of-16 from the field and set a career-high with 32 points.

BEARS THREE-POINT SHOOTING
Redshirt sophomore Jeff Gary hit eight three-pointers in the win over Samford. He finished one off tying the school record. Earlier this season, seniors Ethan Stair and Djordje Dimitrijevic each hit six three-pointers in a contest. Stair accomplished this feat at Georgia Southern (11/19), while Dimitrijevic did this twice, against VMI (1/15) and Samford (1/18). The school record for most three-pointers hit in a game is nine, which was accomplished by Bud Thomas against Lipscomb during the 2013-14 season.

DIMITRIJEVIC NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Senior Djordje Dimitrijevic was named to the College Sports Information Directors of Amercia (CoSIDA) Academic All-District IV Men's Basketball Team. He was one of two SoCon players to earn this honor from the district. The district includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Puerto Rico and South Carolina. Mercer, South Carolina, North Florida, Florida State and Wofford all had one selection on the five person team.

STAIR LEADS THE BEARS IN REBOUNDING
Senior Ethan Stair leads the Bears in rebounding this season. He is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game. His 8.8 average per game is third in the Southern Conference. Stair has 14 games this season with nine or more rebounds. He set his career-high with 16 rebounds against UNCW on Dec. 16, 2019. At ETSU on Jan. 29, Stair finished one rebound shy of his career-high. He has 10 games with double-figure rebounds. Stair has collected a career-high 246 rebounds this season.

SINGLE GAME SOCON SCORING LEADERS
The Bears' Djordje Dimitrijevic scored 34 points on Jan. 11 against Western Carolina. The 34 points are the fourth-highest single-game total in the Southern Conference. Jordan Lyons (Furman) scored 40 points at VMI. Below are the top five SoCon scorers this season.

Name (Team)                                    Points                   Opponents (Date)
Jordan Lyons (Furman)                  40                           at VMI (1/1/20)
Greg Parham (VMI)                         36                           The Citadel (2/8/20)
Josh Sharkey (Samford)                 35                           vs. Chattanooga (1/29/20)
Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)     34                           at Western Carolina (1/11/20)
Jordan Lyons (Furman)                  33                           at Alabama (11/19/19)
Jordan Lyons (Furman)                  33                           at Western Carolina (2/8/20)

THREE GAMES LEFT IN SOCON PLAY
With three regular season games, left in Southern Conference action there is still a lot up in the air. The Bears are in a four-way tie with Western Carolina, Wofford, and Chattanooga in the standings. The Bears are looking to earn a fourth place finish in the SoCon. Two of the three games left for Mercer are against teams they are tied with in the standings.

GREG GARY COACH'S SHOW
The Greg Gary Coach's Show is underway from Margaritas in Mercer Village. The 11-edition show will be streamed on Sportsmic Radio and the Mercer Men's Basketball Facebook page. The show is aired from Margaritas in Mercer Village from 6 to 7 p.m. The next Greg Gary Coach's Show will be on Monday, Feb. 24th.

SoCon Championships
The 2020 Ingles SoCon Men's Basketball Championship presented by General Shale will be held March 6-9 at Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina. The 2020 edition of the tournament is the 100th for the nation's oldest collegiate conference basketball tournament.

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Charleston, S.C. to face The Citadel in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from McAlister Field House.

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.