Men's Basketball Opens Season With 90-53 Win Over Reinhardt

Monday, November 2

Macon, Ga.

11 a.m.

Mercer University

1-0,0-0SoCon

Reinhardt

0-1

Team	1	2	F
Reinhardt	21	32	53
Mercer	39	51	90

11/2/2026 2:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Shane Cherry led all scorers with 21 points

MACON, Ga. – Shane Cherry scored 21 points in his Mercer debut to help the Mercer men's basketball team pick up a season opening 90-53 win over Reinhardt Monday afternoon inside Hawkins Arena.

Cherry went 7-for-11 from the field and added four rebounds. Derek Goodman finished with 18 points, with all three of his made three-point attempts coming in the second half. In all, 12 of Mercer's 13 players that played, scored.

Mercer shot 32-for-67 (47.8%) from the field and made 10-of-35 (28.6%) of its three-point attempts. Reinhardt made 19-of-57 (33.3%) of its field goal attempts and went just 4-for-20 (20.0%) from deep. The Bears used their size to their advantage, outrebounding the Eagles, 48-27 and scoring 42 points in the paint to just 18 for the Eagles.

Both teams were a little careless with the ball as Reinhardt had 18 turnovers to 15 for the Bears. Mercer did a better job of scoring off those turnovers as points off turnovers were 22-6, Mercer.

THE BASICS
SCORE: Mercer 90, Reinhardt 53
RECORDS: Mercer (1-0, 0-0 SoCon), Reinhardt (0-1, 0-0 AAC)
LOCATION: Macon, Ga. (Hawkins Arena)

HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
Mercer got off to a slow start, going 3-for-11 from the field to start the game and finding itself trailing 11-9 seven minutes into the game. However, the Bears would then find their rhythm offensively. Leading, 20-17, Mercer then went on a 10-0 run sparked by a steal and fastbreak dunk by Brady Shoulders. Keelan Steele ended the half with a tip in just before the halftime buzzer to give the Bears a 39-21 lead at halftime.

2ND HALF
Goodman scored Mercer's five points to begin the second half as Mercer led, 44-21. A few minutes later, he then connected on two three-pointers in back-to-back possessions to give Mercer a 55-31 lead.

Cherry followed Goodman's three-pointers by scoring the next seven points for Mercer as the lead grew to 27 points at 62-35 with just over 11 minutes to play. Dawson Barr made back-to-back three's for the Bears and after a layup from Karon Boyd, Barr scored on a fastbreak and Mercer took a 72-39 lead.

Quinton Perkins drained his lone three-pointer of the day to stop a short 7-0 run for Reinhardt with just under five minutes to play as Mercer led 79-46. Freshman Harrison Lyttle scored his first career collegiate points on a fastbreak layup in the final seconds as the game ended, 90-53 in favor of the Bears.

NOTABLES
+ With the win, the Bears have won each of their last three home openers.
+ 12 of Mercer's 13 players who entered the game scored.
+ Shane Cherry scored a game high 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
+ Petras Padegimas scored in his first game since December 2024 after missing the last two seasons with an injury.
+ Mercer outrebounded Reinhardt, 48-27.
+ Points in the paint were 42-18, Mercer.
+ Brady Shoulders had a game high 13 rebounds.
+ Freshman Harrison Lyttle scored his first career points.
+ It was a fairly balanced scoring effort from the Bears as despite scoring 90 points only three players scored in double figures.

NEXT UP
Mercer will travel to Blacksburg, Virginia to play Virginia Tech on Thursday, Nov. 5. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. inside Cassell Coliseum.

STAY CONNECTED
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