Mercer Wins Season Opener In Convincing Fashion Over Virginia-Lynchburg, 125-54

Thursday, November 7

Macon, Ga.

7 p.m.

Mercer University

1-0,0-0SoCon

125

Virginia University of Lynchburg

0-2

Virginia-Lynchburg

Mercer

125

Mercer Wins Season Opener In Convincing Fashion Over Virginia-Lynchburg, 125-54

11/7/2024 9:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

All 12 Mercer players made at least two field goals in the game

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's basketball team shot nearly 60 percent from the field, and scored a single-game program record 125 points on its way to a season opening 125-54 win over Virgnia-Lynchburg Thursday night from Hawkins Arena in what was head coach Ryan Ridder's first career win with the Bears.

Mercer (1-0) had six players score in double figures and all 12 players who saw the court made at least two field goals. Mercer shot 59.8 percent from the field and had 61 bench points to none for Virginia-Lynchburg.

Angel Montas Jr. led the Bears with a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Marcus Overstreet was one rebound shy of a double-double despite only playing 12 minutes, and Jah Quinones had 10 assists to zero turnovers to highlight some notable individual performances from the Bears.

THE BASICS

SCORE: Mercer 125, Virginia-Lynchburg 54
RECORDS: Mercer 1-0 (0-0 SoCon); Virginia-Lynchburg 0-2 (0-0 NCCAA South)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED

1ST HALF

Mercer got out to an early 9-2 lead that included a couple of jumpers from Montas Jr. Then, leading 18-10 with just under 12 minutes to go in the first half, Overstreet went on an 8-0 scoring run himself, using his size to crash the glass and get layups. Alex Holt scored the next two buckets for Mercer and the Bears extended their lead to 30-10.

With just over four minutes to play in the first half and leading 38-18, Mercer would go on a 16-4 scoring run in just over two minutes to take a 54-22 lead. The Bears would head into halftime with a 59-29 lead.

2ND HALF

Mercer did not slow down to start the second half. Instead, the Bears scored the first 15 points of the half that included two three-pointers from Montas Jr. and one from Tyler Johnson and suddenly the lead grew to 74-29. With a little more than eight minutes to play, Jah Nze knocked down a jumper to make it a 94-40 lead for the Bears. The longest scoring run of the game for Mercer came late in the second half and was punctuated by a dunk from walk-on freshman Alex Koch. The Bears went on an 18-0 run and led 116-47 with just over three minutes remaining. The Bears closed out the season opener with a 125-54 win.

NOTABLES

+ Mercer's 125 points broke the all-time program record for most points in a game. The previous record was 118 points set in 2022 against Milligan.
+ Bench points were 61-0, Mercer and fast break points were 67-6, Mercer.
+ Mercer outrebounded Virginia-Lynchburg, 59-23.
+ Jah Quinones had a career-high 10 assists to zero turnovers.
+ Four of Tyler Johnson's five made field goals were three-pointers. He was an efficient 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
+ Ahmad Robinson had a strong all-around performance with 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.
+ TJ Grant had a career-high 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting.

UP NEXT

Mercer will play its first road game of the season next week as the Bears travel to Chicago, Illinois to play Big East foe Depaul. Tip off is Monday, Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT.

STAY CONNECTED

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BACK THE BEARS

Fans can help support the Mercer athletics department by making a gift to the Mercer Athletic Foundation. To find out more information about the Mercer Athletic Foundation, email maf@mercer.edu.