SoCon Showdown Set for Saturday at 2 p.m.

MACON, Ga. – A Southern Conference battle is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday inside Hawkins Arena as the Mercer Bears will battle the UNCG Spartans in a key league matchup.

BEAR NECESSITIES
Date: Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 | 2:00 p.m.
Matchup: UNCG (14-6, 9-3 SoCon) at Mercer (12-7, 5-6 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | Hawkins Arena
Tickets: bit.ly/2OoovKf
Live Stats: bit.ly/3af9Eu5
Live Video: ESPN+
Live Radio: 100.9 The Creek and SportsMic with Rick Cameron on the call
Game Notes: Mercer | UNCG
Hawkins Arena Protocols: Click Here
Promotion: Faculty & Staff Appreciation
Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB

LAST TIME OUT/TODAY's GAME
For the second consecutive game, the Mercer Bears picked up an overtime win over the Samford Bulldogs, topping the Bulldogs in Birmingham on Wednesday night, 77-70. Prior to Wednesday night, Mercer had not played back-to-back overtime contests since January 2016. Neftali Alvarez shot 10-of-14 from the floor and scored a game-high 23 points. Leon Ayers III and Ross Cummings each contributed 13 points, and Jeff Gary added 11. On Saturday, the Bears welcome the UNCG Spartans to Hawkins Arena for a 2 p.m. tip.

STEADILY CLIMBING THE SCORING RANKS
Ross Cummings became the 43rd player in Mercer men's basketball history to reach at least 1,000 career points when he made a layup with 5:45 to go against Wofford on Dec. 29. Below are the players he is trying to catch. Prior to Cummings, the last Bear to join the 1,000-point club was Ethan Stair. Stair joined the club last season on Jan. 28 at Samford. The all-time leading scorer is James Florence. Florence played for the Bears from 2006-10 and tallied 2,286 points in his career. Cummings' 1,57 points rank him 21st in program history.

Rk.       Name                           Pts.
16.       Bruce Gordy 1,227
17.       Pete Geter 1.206
18.       Jordan Strawberry 1,200
19.       Scott Bailey                  1,197
20.      Ethan Stair                   1,171
21.       Ross Cummings         1,157

200+ CAREER THREE-POINTERS FOR CUMMINGS
The sharpshooting Cummings is nearing Mercer's all-time three-pointers made record, currently held by fan-favorite Langston Hall. Hall, who led the Bears to a stunning upset of No. 3 Duke in the NCAA Tournament in 2014, knocked down 256 treys. James Florence, the Bears' all-time leading scorer knocked down 242 shots from beyond the arc. Thanks to four three-pointers against Ga. Southern (Dec. 13), Cummings has sole possession of third all-time on the list. His five triples on Dec. 29 vs. Wofford put him over 200 total. He currently has 222 three-pointers made and is 35 away from the record.

Rk.       Name                            3's
1           Langston Hall 256
2.         James Florence           242
3.         Ross Cummings          229
4.         E.J. Kusnyer 190
5.         Bud Thomas 161

CUMMINGS A CANDIDATE: SENIOR GUARD ONE OF 30 SENIOR C.L.A.S.S. AWARD CANDIDATES
Mercer redshirt senior guard Ross Cummings was the lone Southern Conference men's basketball player selected as a candidate for the Senior C.L.A.S.S. Award, the committee announced. Only 30 NCAA Division I men's basketball players nationwide are selected as candidates for the prestigious award. To be eligible for the honor, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

A decorated student, Cummings is currently working towards his Masters in Higher Education Leadership and boasts a near perfect GPA. He has been named to the Southern Conference's Academic Honor Roll on two occasions.

CUMMINGS HIGH AMONG ACTIVE SCORING LEADERS
Cummings is among the Southern Conference's active career scoring leaders.

Name                      School        Yr.        Points
Isaiah Miller           UNCG   Sr. 1,764
Storm Murphy Wofford      Sr. 1.231
Clay Mounce Furman    Sr.        1,214
D.Jean-Baptiste UTC    Sr.         1,212
Matt Halvorsen WCU Sr.         1,195
Ross Cummings Mercer R-Sr. 1,157

DON'T LEAVE HIM OPEN! CUMMINGS AMONG SOCON'S BEST FROM DISTANCE
Cummings is third among active SoCon players career in three-pointers made.

Name                          School       Yr.        3's
Matt Halvorsen WCU Sr.        280
Kaiden Rice Citadel     Sr.       257
Ross Cummings      Mercer     R-Sr. 229

CUMMINGS IN THE NCAA STATS RANKINGS
Ross Cummings is featured the NCAA statistical rankings for both the season and his career. See below for more info.

Category Season/Career     Rank      Percent/Number
3PT FG%       Season 11 45.16%
3 PT FGM       Season              18 56 Makes
3 PT FG/GM Season              24 2.94
3PT FG% Career 29 41.5%
3 PT FGM       Career 33 229 Makes

HAASE HITS THE BOARDS
Felipe Haase has made a difference on the glass for Mercer this season. Below is where he ranks among the SoCon's leaders in rebounding

Rk.      Category         Avg.
3.        Reb./Gm.          7.9
3.        Def.Reb/Gm    6.5
T-16.   Off.Reb/Gm     1.4

HOME SWEET HOME
Hawkins Arena has been kind to the Bears in recent years. Each of the past two seasons, Mercer has gone 9-6 on their home floor. In 2017-18, the Bears were 11-3 inside Hawkins Arena. Below is Mercer's record at home since the 2016-17 campaign. Mercer is 44-24 at home since that campaign.

Season          Record
2016-17            8-7
2017-18            11-3
2018-19            9-6
2019-20           9-6
2020-21 7-2
Total                44-24

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.

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Players Mentioned

Neftali Alvarez

Leon Ayers III

Ross Cummings

Jeff Gary

Felipe Haase

Ethan Stair

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