Bears Venture to VMI

Thursday, February 10

Lexington, VA

7:00 PM

Mercer University

VMI

Photo by: Kayla Davis

2/8/2022 4:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Mercer will tip off at 7 p.m. against VMI on Thursday, Feb. 10

By: Jake List

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer Bears will travel to Lexington, Va. to face off against the VMI Keydets in Cameron Hall on Thursday, Feb. 10 with tip-off slated for 7 P.M. on ESPN+. BEAR NECESSITIES Date: Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022 | 7 p.m. Matchup: Mercer (13-12, 6-6 SoCon ) at VMI (14-10, 7-5 SoCon) Location: Lexington, Va. | Cameron Hall Live Stats: StatBroadcast Radio: Listen Here TV: Watch on ESPN+ / Watch Here Twitter Updates: @MercerMBB LAST TIME OUT: Mercer fell short to Chattanooga in overtime, 74-72 on Monday, February 7, in Hawkins Arena. Kamar Robertson led all Bears with 16 points in the contest on 3-of-8 shooting from the field and going 10-of-13 from the free throw line. Junior forward James Glisson III chipped in with 14 points and four rebounds. Felipe Haase notched 12 points while shooting 100% at the line. Jalen Johnson was the final Bear in double digits with 10 points with five rebounds as well. Having the lead at halftime at halftime, Mercer wouldn't be able to hold the lead in second half in Hawkins. The second half opened the same as the first, as Haase converted on consecutive shots to stretch the Bears lead to double-digits. The Mocs answered right back with a 9-2 run to cut the lead to 39-35. Neftali Alvarez ended the run with a deep three-pointer, as Mercer built the lead back up to nine. The Mocs cut the deficit with an 8-0 run that brought them within one at 46-45. However, junior guard Shawn Walker Jr. came back with five straight points to give the Bears a six-point advantage at the 6:16 mark.

Glisson III flexed the defensive muscles on the opposite end with a big block. The Bears would knock down one of two from the line, but a costly foul gave Chattanooga three tries at the line to tie the game. The Mocs converted on all three with just six seconds remaining in regulation. With s Bears last second possession, the Orange and Black saw a last chance shot fall short as the game headed to overtime tied at 62.

The Mocs began the extra period with the same momentum, as they jumped out to a 68-64 lead. After hitting one of two from the line, Chattanooga held a 71-68 lead. With 20 seconds remaining, Robertson was able to knock down two straight free throws to bring the deficit to one. After a foul and a missed free throw from the Mocs, Glisson III had an emphatic dunk to give Mercer the 72-71 lead with nine seconds remaining. With limited time and in dire need of points, the Mocs nailed a corner three to steal the game and earn the win on the road.

SERIES HISTORY: Mercer leads the overall series 15-3 dating back to Dec. 9, 2006. Thursday's game will be the second time Mercer plays VMI this season. The last matchup between these two teams was on Jan. 13 in Hawkins where the Bears nearly reached the century mark with a 97-91 victory. In that game, the Bears had three players score over 20 points the contests. Jalen Johnson led the way with 30 points and was 8-8 from the 3-point range. Felipe Haase followed with 28 points and James Glisson III reached 21 points.

The last time these two teams met in Lexington, Va. was on January 25, 2020 when the Bears won 69-66. Kamar Robertson made a huge three-pointer with under 90 seconds left in the game to put Mercer ahead and secure the victory. Robertson finished with 16 points in the contest.
SCOUTING THE KEYDETS: VMI Keydets (14-10, 7-5 SoCon) hosted the Western Carolina Catamounts (9-16, 3-9) in Cameron Hall finishing with a 76-69 victory. VMI trailed by as many as 12 points midway through the second half Friday evening but eventually rallied for the victory over WCU in a Southern Conference clash in Lexington. That matchup was VMI's third-straight win and keeps the Keydets in the top four of the conference standings at 7-5 with six games to play. The visiting Catamounts led 41-36 at halftime, forcing the Keydets into just a 20 percent half on a 4-of-20 shooting performance from three-point range. In doing so, WCU was able to extend their advantage to 54-42 with 11:46 on the game clock. However, it a turn of events a 16-3 run by the Keydets over the next five minutes, fueled by seven points from the freshman guard Honor Huff put VMI ahead 58-57. WCU held the lead again, 69-65 with 3:23 left, but the Keydet defense shutout the visitors for the remainder of the game. The contest was tied at 69 all with under a minute to play, and following a timeout, Kamdyn Curfman nailed a three-pointer and VMI iced the game from the free-throw line. Senior center Jake Stephens scored a game-high 20 points with 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals. He has 12 20-point games this season along with eight double doubles.
UP NEXT GRAPHIC:
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THE SOCON RACE:

The Bears are currently tied for fourth in the conference with a 6-6 record in conference play.

Team                                       SoCon               Overall
Chattanooga                            11-2                       21-5
Furman 9-4    17-9
VMI 7-5 14-10
UNCG 6-6 14-10
Mercer 6-6 13-12
Wofford 6-7 14-11
Samford 5-7 15-9
ETSU 5-8 13-13
The Citadel 4-7 10-12
Western Carolina 3-10 9-17

SHARING IS CARING:   Mercer is fourth as a team in the Southern Conference in assists while averaging 15 assists per game. Felipe Haase leads Mercer with a 1.9 assist to turnover ratio. Rk.  Name (School)          AST    TO    Avg

1.	Alex Hunter-FUR	82	27	3.0
2.	Ryan Larson-WOF	96	37	2.6
3.	David Sloan-ETSU	135	62	2.2
4.	Trey Bonham-VMI	83	42	2.0
5.	Felipe Haase-MER	80	43	1.9

FREEBIES AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: Haase is ranked third in the Southern Conference making 86.4% percent of his free throws attempted. Haase has attempted 81 FTs so far on the season.

Rk. Name (School). FTM FTA Avg.

1.	Max Klesmit-WOF	59	67	.881
2.	Ques Glover-SAM	86	99	.869
3.	Felipe Haase-MER	70	81	.864

BLOCK PARTY: The Durham, N.C. native and Tennessee/Wake Forest transfer is ranked fifth within the Southern Conference for blocked shots per game. He is the only guard within the top 5. Rk. Name (School). GP. No. Avg.

1.	Stephen Clark-CIT	22	55	2.5
2.	Jake Stephens-VMI	24	51	2.1
3.	Jalen Slawson-FUR	26	45	1.7
4.	Silvio DeSousa-UTC	22	26	1.2
5.	Jalen Johnson-MER	24	24	1.0

HOME SWEET HOME: Hawkins Arena has been kind to the Bears in recent years. Each of the past two seasons, Mercer has earned nine wins on their home floor. Below is Mercer's record at home since the 2019-20 campaign. Since the beginning of the Greg Gary era, Mercer is 27-13 at home during his current campaign. Season Record 2019-20 9-6 2020-21 9-4 2021-22 9-3 Total 27-13 UP NEXT: Mercer will visit Lexington Virginia on Feb. 10 inside Cameron Hall. Tip-off is slated for 7 P.M. The matchup on Thursday can be viewed on ESPN+ and can be heard on the Mercer Sports Network (100.9 The Creek, SportsMic) with Rick Cameron on the call. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW: Purchase your 2021-22 season tickets here to watch the Bears in action at Hawkins Arena. The Bears' next home game is on Wednesday, Feb. 16 against ETSU at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Feb. 16 game can be purchased HERE.