Mercer Back in Action at Florida State

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team travels to face Florida State on Monday, November 21 at 6:30 p.m. at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, Florida. This will be the second game in three days for the Bears which is the quickest turnaround this season aside from the upcoming Hostilo Community Classic.

GAMEDAY INFO
Mercer (2-2) at Florida State (0-4)
Monday, November 21, 2022 | 6:30 p.m.
Tallahassee, Fla. | Donald L. Tucker Center
TV: ACC Network | RADIO: SportsMic Radio Network

Monday will be the 26^th meeting between the two programs. The two teams began the all-time series as members of the Dixie Conference where Mercer won the first four matchups from 1947-1949. Mercer won the most recent meeting with the Seminoles in December 2012 on the road.

Members of the Mercer coaching staff also competed against Florida State during their playing careers. Head coach Greg Gary and assistant coach Kim Lewis both faced the Seminoles while student-athletes at Tulane. Gary posted 38 points across four games against FSU while Lewis scored 36 points in two games.

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles are led by head coach Leonard Hamilton in his 21^st season with the program. Florida State was picked to finish fifth in the ACC this year.

Florida State proved to be a powerhouse in recent years, competing in the NCAA tournament for five straight years from 2017-21, but seem to have stalled after finishing eighth in the ACC and failing to make the NCAA tournament last season. FSU is currently 0-4 this season with losses to Stetson, UCF, Troy, and Florida.

Coach Hamilton is dealing with a depleted roster, forcing him to play more inexperienced players for increased minutes. Darin Green Jr. and Caleb Mills lead the Seminoles as the only players averaging double figures in scoring.

Mercer is averaging 21.5 more points per game than FSU through four games this season. Mercer boasts an 88.3 PPG average with a 14.8 average scoring margin while FSU posts a 66.8 PPG average with a -9.8 average scoring margin.

RECENT ACTION
The Bears earned the second win of the regular season on Saturday, November 19 against Winthrop, prevailing 77-68. Five players scored in double figures led by senior Kamar Robertson with 23 points. Robertson scored five from three-point range, tying a career-high and becoming the second player to hit that mark this season (Shawn Walker Jr. vs. Milligan).

David Craig (15 PTS, 10 REB) and Luis Hurtado Jr. (10 PTS, 10 A) became the first pair to record double-doubles for Mercer since December 28, 2019. These were the first double-doubles of the season for the Bears and career-firsts for both players. Hurtado Jr. is the first Mercer player to record 10 assists since Djordje Dimitrijevic against Samford on February 19, 2020.

The game against Winthrop contributed to an excellent week for Hurtado Jr. The graduate transfer from Bryant achieved career-highs in points, FGM, FGA, three-point FGs, three-point FGA, FTA, assists, blocks, and minutes across the games against Georgia State and Winthrop.

Freshman Jah Quinones also had a stellar week, scoring in double figures in both games with 14 points against Georgia State and 13 points against Winthrop. He led the team in assists against Georgia State and was tied for the team-lead in steals for both games.

FOLLOW THE BEARS:
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's 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

David Craig

Luis Hurtado Jr.

Jah Quinones

Kamar Robertson

Shawn Walker Jr.

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