Mercer Heads to Charleston to Face The Citadel

Wednesday, February 26

Charleston, S.C.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

The Citadel

Photo by: Judy Stapleton

Mercer Heads to Charleston to Face The Citadel

2/25/2020 2:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Mercer Game Notes

The Bears wrap up their 2019-20 road schedule Wednesday

By: Travis Rae

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team heads to Charleston to face The Citadel in Southern Conference action. The matchup will tip at 7 p.m. from McAlister Fieldhouse. This will be the final regular season road game of the season.

GAME DAY LINEUP
Date: Feb. 26, 2020 | 7 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (15-14, 9-7 SoCon) at The Citadel (6-21, 0-16 SoCon)
Location: Charleston, S.C. | McAlister Fieldhouse
Live Stats: CitadelSports.com
Radio: 100.9 The Creek FM and SportsMic – Rick Cameron
TV: ESPN+
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall: Mercer leads the all-time series, 17-7
• Current Streak: W1
• Last Meeting: W, 76-71 (Feb. 1, 2020)

OPENING TIPOFF
The Mercer men's basketball team returns to action on Wednesday in Charleston, S.C. The Southern Conference match is set to tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be aired on ESPN+, 100.9 The Creek FM and Sportsmic Radio with Rick Cameron on the call.

ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
The Citadel enters the contest with the Bears with a record of 6-21 on the season and 0-16 in Southern Conference play… The Citadel is currently on a 16 game losing streak, with its last win coming on Dec. 19 in a triple overtime, 102-99, win over Longwood… The Bulldogs are averaging 76.0 points per game… The Citadel is shooting 43.8 percent from the floor this season… They have attempted 779 three-pointers entering the contest… They have made 258 three-pointers on the season, the 25^th most in the NCAA… The Bulldogs are averaging 9.6 made three-pointers per game this season… Kaelon Harris is averaging 13.6 points per game to lead the team… Kaiden Rice follows averaging 12.6 points per game…. In the last game The Citadel played, Fletcher Abee hit seven three-pointers and scored 28 points… Opponents are averaging 80.9 points per game and are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor… The Bulldogs are allowing teams to make 9.2 three-pointers per game… The Citadel is led by fifth year head coach Duggar Baucom.

LAST TIME OUT
The last time the Bears took to the court was on Feb. 22 when they traveled to Chattanooga, Tenn. to play in a critical Southern Conference matchup. The Mocs and Bears entered the game with an identical mark in the SoCon. The Bears came away with an 85-80 win over Chattanooga. The win for the Bears was their ninth win in the SoCon this season. Five Bears reached double-figures on the night led by Jeff Gary and Maciej Bender with 17 points each. Kamar Robertson followed with 16 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Djordje Dimitrijevic and Ethan Stair rounded out the double-figure scorers with 12 and 11 points respectively. The Bears had 17 assists on the night on 31 made field goals and shot 50 percent from the floor. Mercer only committed six turnovers in the contest, which is a season low.

DIMITRIJEVIC THREE-POINT STREAK
Djordje Dimitrijevic made a three-pointer against Samford and now has hit a three-pointer in 26 straight games. This is the longest streak in the SoCon. Matt Ryan of Chattanooga, who has made a three-pointer in 18 straight games, holds the second-longest streak in the SoCon for made three-pointers.

Player (School)                                 Streak
Djordje Dimitrijevic (Mercer)     26
Matt Ryan (Chattanooga)             18
Fletcher Abee (Citadel)                  15
Nathan Hoover (Wofford)            15

GARY NAMED SoCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On Tuesday, Jeff Gary was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week. Over the past two games for the Bears, Gary averaged 24.5 points per game and shot 69.2 percent from the floor. He hit a career-high eight three-pointers in the win against Samford last Wednesday. The eight three-pointers tied a Hawkins Arena record. Over the two games for the Bears, Gary was 12-of-18 on three-pointers.

SENIOR DAY SATURDAY
The Bears return to Hawkins Arena on Saturday for Senior Day when Mercer hosts Wofford. The Bears will be honoring two seniors, Ethan Stair and Djordje Dimitrijevic, prior to the game. The game is an ORANGE OUT! Show up and wear orange to Hawkins Arena.

BEARS PICKING UP THE DOUBLE-DOUBLES
The Bears picked up their 16th double-double of the season. In the win at Chattanooga, Kamar Robertson picked up his first double-double of his career with 16 points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. Robertson is the fourth different Bear to record his first career double-double this season. Ethan Stair leads the team with 10 double-doubles. Maciej Bender and Djordje Dimitrijevic have two each, while Victor Bafutto and Robertson have one.

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 1,136 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                          1,136

STAIR CLOSING IN ON TOP TEN REBOUNDING SEASON
Senior Ethan Stair has collected 254 rebounds during the 2019-20 season. He is 10 rebounds shy of tying Benton Wade and Woodrow Richardson for ninth single-season most in Mercer Basketball history.

DROPPING DIMES
In the win against Samford on Feb. 19, 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 THREE-POINT SHOOERS
In the win over Samford, 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. On Saturday, Fletcher Abee hit seven three-pointers for The Citadel in the loss at Western Carolina. Abee went 7-for-14 on three-pointers on the day. The eight three-pointers by Gary are tied for the second most in the SoCon this season, while the seven by Abee is tied for fourth most.

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.

LAST TIME AGAINST THE CITADEL
The last time the Bears faced the Citadel was on Feb. 1, 2020. Mercer won the contest, 76-71, and extended its winning streak to six. Daniel Love led the Bears with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Kamar Robertson and Diego Rivera followed with 13 points each. Rivera's 13 points set a career-high. Jeff Gary added 12 points, and Ethan Stair rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points. Mercer shot over 50 percent for the second straight game and eighth time this season. The Bears had five players score in double figures on the night.

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)

TWO GAMES LEFT IN SOCON Play
With two regular season games left in Southern Conference action, there is still a lot up in the air. The Bears are in a tie with Western Carolina in the standings. Chattanooga and Wofford are only a game behind.

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 final Greg Gary Coach's Show will be on Monday, March 2nd.

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 close out the 2019-20 regular season on Saturday when they host Wofford in Southern Conference action. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. from Hawkins Arena. Saturday is Senior Day. The Bears will honor their two seniors prior to the game.

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.