Wednesday, December 28
Birmingham, AL
7 PM
Mercer University
7-7,0-1SoCon
69
at
78
Samford University
7-7,1-0SoCon
1
2
F
Mercer
35
34
69
Samford
36
42
78
Team Stats
Mercer
SU
FG%
.519
.500
3FG%
.462
.565
FT%
.750
.765
RB
28
26
TO
12
9
STL
3
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
22
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Mercer Drops Conference Opener at Samford
12/28/2022 10:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Bears fall to 7-7 overall, 0-1 SoCon
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Mercer (7-7, 0-1) fell to Samford (7-7, 1-0), 78-69, in the first conference game of the season on Wednesday night. This is the second year in a row the Bears have dropped a road game to Samford after not losing in Birmingham since 2002 previously.
"We played very timidly on offense which blows my mind," head coach Greg Gary said. "The guys that finished, they competed. We need to have more guys compete."
The game started very defensively for both teams with neither team scoring in the first 90 seconds. Samford led for the middle 10 minutes of the first half, but the difference remained close.
Mercer led for the final four minutes of the half until Nathan Johnson drained a three with four seconds left to put the Bulldogs ahead by one at the break.
The Bears never took the lead again as Samford had all of the momentum in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 53.8% from the field in the second half, featuring 58.3% from beyond the arc. Mercer shot 46.2% in the second half but also recorded eight turnovers, leaving multiple missed opportunities to close the margin.
Despite the lack of offensive flow, three players scored in double figures for the Bears. Jalyn McCreary posted his sixth 20-point game of the season and third in a row with 22 points, finishing 10-15 from the field. He also notched a team-high seven rebounds.
"He cares, and he competes, and he's able to put the ball in the hole," Gary said of McCreary. "We just need to have more guys be able to do that."
Freshman Michael Zanoni recorded 16 points, going nearly perfect 7-for-8 including 2-for-2 from three-point range. Kamar Robertson logged his fourth-straight game scoring in double figures with 15 points against the Bulldogs.
A boost for Mercer's depth, center Shannon Grant made his first appearance of the season after missing all of non-conference play due to injury.
"We still have a good team, and we showed that a couple times, but this team really stubbed our toe," Gary added. "I'm looking forward to being able to respond on Saturday."
UP NEXT: Mercer will host its first home conference game of the season on Saturday, December 31 at 2 p.m. as the Bears welcome Chattanooga.
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.Â
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"We played very timidly on offense which blows my mind," head coach Greg Gary said. "The guys that finished, they competed. We need to have more guys compete."
The game started very defensively for both teams with neither team scoring in the first 90 seconds. Samford led for the middle 10 minutes of the first half, but the difference remained close.
Mercer led for the final four minutes of the half until Nathan Johnson drained a three with four seconds left to put the Bulldogs ahead by one at the break.
The Bears never took the lead again as Samford had all of the momentum in the second half. The Bulldogs shot 53.8% from the field in the second half, featuring 58.3% from beyond the arc. Mercer shot 46.2% in the second half but also recorded eight turnovers, leaving multiple missed opportunities to close the margin.
Despite the lack of offensive flow, three players scored in double figures for the Bears. Jalyn McCreary posted his sixth 20-point game of the season and third in a row with 22 points, finishing 10-15 from the field. He also notched a team-high seven rebounds.
"He cares, and he competes, and he's able to put the ball in the hole," Gary said of McCreary. "We just need to have more guys be able to do that."
Freshman Michael Zanoni recorded 16 points, going nearly perfect 7-for-8 including 2-for-2 from three-point range. Kamar Robertson logged his fourth-straight game scoring in double figures with 15 points against the Bulldogs.
A boost for Mercer's depth, center Shannon Grant made his first appearance of the season after missing all of non-conference play due to injury.
"We still have a good team, and we showed that a couple times, but this team really stubbed our toe," Gary added. "I'm looking forward to being able to respond on Saturday."
UP NEXT: Mercer will host its first home conference game of the season on Saturday, December 31 at 2 p.m. as the Bears welcome Chattanooga.
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.Â
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