Bears Roll Past The Citadel in Tournament Opener

Friday, March 3

Asheville, N.C.

5 p.m.

Mercer University

14-18,6-12SoCon

The Citadel

10-22,5-13SoCon

The Citadel

Mercer

Michael Zanoni and Kamar Robertson celebrating

Bears Roll Past The Citadel in Tournament Opener

3/3/2023 9:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Mercer advances to face Furman in the Quarterfinals on Saturday at 12 p.m.

By: Amanda Cover

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer men's basketball program dismantled The Citadel, 66-41, on Friday evening in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville in North Carolina. The Bears advance to face Furman in the Quarterfinals on Saturday, March 4 at 12 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team scored for the first 2:24, but once Mercer started scoring, the points were plentiful. The Citadel had zero points at the first media timeout and zero field goals in the first 9:30 as the Bears led 16-1. The Bulldogs only scored two field goals in the first half as Mercer led 27-10 at half.

The Citadel showed more offense in the second half, but the Bears remained steady. Mercer led by no less than 14 points in the second period and extended the lead to 27 in the final three minutes of the game.

BY THE NUMBERS
Mercer dominated the offensive statistics, particularly in the first half. The Bears went 12-of-28 (43%) from the field while the Bulldogs shot 2-for-26 (8%) in the opening 20 minutes. The Citadel failed to score from distance in the first half. Mercer finished at 47% for the entire game while The Citadel improved to 26%.

The Bears won the battle on the boards, 47-22, including 15 offensive rebounds. Luis Hurtado Jr. led the team with nine rebounds in his 100^th career game. Mercer committed 18 turnovers to The Citadel's 10, but the Bulldogs only scored 13 points off turnovers.

Jalyn McCreary led the Bears in scoring with 11 points followed by Michael Zanoni with 10 points. 11 players scored for Mercer as the Bears led for 37:35 and never faced a deficit. The Mercer bench scored more points than the entire Bulldog roster in the first half.

Mercer is now 2-0 against The Citadel in the Southern Conference Tournament after the third win over the Bulldogs this season.

UP NEXT: Mercer will face Furman in the Quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday, March 4 at 12 p.m. at the Harrah's Cherokee Center – Asheville.

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.