Mercer (7-8, 0-2 SoCon) at Western Carolina (6-9, 2-1 SoCon)
Preview:
Mercer was the preseason pick by Southern Conference coaches to win the Southern Conference. Things haven't gone so well for the Bears out of the gate to start the Southern Conference season. Mercer has lost games to East Tennessee State (L, 55-74) and on the road at Furman (L, 71-74) to start league play, making Wednesday night's game in Cullowhee especially crucial.
Meanwhile, the young Catamounts have made the most of their opening three games of Southern Conference play, with wins over Chattanooga (W, 75-63) and The Citadel (W, 81-79), and the lone loss coming on the road at Samford (L, 71-85).
The Catamounts and Bears will be meeting for the 14th time in series history, with the Catamounts holding a narrow, 7-6, edge in the all-time series. The Bears claimed both of last season's meetings between the two, including a 70-50 win in Cullowhee.
Mercer and Western Carolina have two of the winningest coaches in the Southern Conference, with Catamount coach Larry Hunter having posted a 695-443 in 37 years as a head coach, while Bears coach Bob Hoffman has posted a 497-293 record in 24 years as a head basketball coach.
Who To Watch:
Mercer comes into the matchup with one of the most experienced lineups in the Southern Conference, and will likely start five seniors in Wednesday night's Southern Conference clash.
In the backcourt, keep an eye on point guard Jordan Strawberry (8.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG), as well as one of the best perimeter shooters in the nation, in Ria'n Holland (20.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG). Strawberry only played four minutes in the loss at Furman due to illness, while Holland struggled shooting the basketball for the second-straight game. He went 0-for-6 from three-point range in Saturday's loss to the Paladins, while going 1-for-3 from long range in the home loss to East Tennessee State to open league play. That means over the past two games, Holland has connected on just 1-of-9 from three-point land.
Despite those struggles, Holland enters Wednesday night's game having connected on 53.4% from three-point range this season (39-of-73), which ranks him third overall in the NCAA. Overall, the Bears' 42.4% shooting percentage from three-point land this season ranks them seventh overall in the NCAA.
In the paint, the Bears have three talented performers, with any one of the three possessing the ability to take over a basketball game. Demetre Rivers (10.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG), Desmond Ringer (8.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG) and Stephon Jelks (9.9 PPG, 7.1 RPG) give the Bears one of the top front courts in the SoCon. Ringer is coming of a career-high tying 22-point performance in the loss at Furman this past Saturday. The senior from McDonough, GA and transfer from South Carolina has scored in double figures each of the past three games. He went 7-of-8 from the field and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the loss at Furman.
Rivers has also had a strong season at forward for Hoffman's Bears. The 6-8 forward from Ladson, S.C. had 13 points the last time out against Furman, and scored a season and career-high 24 points in the 80-79 loss to Alabama just before the Christmas Break. Rivers might be Mercer's most versatile player, with the ability to drive the ball or shoot from the perimeter. Jelks has provided the needed assistance on the boards for the Bears this season, and comes into Wednesday night's SoCon clash with the Catamounts ranking fourth in the league in rebounding.
The top player off the bench this season has been freshman point guard Marcus Cohen (5.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG), who had a superb game in the loss at Furman this past weekend. The Tampa, FL native posted a career-high 14 points, having to do most of the grunt work, with Strawberry sidelined with an illness.
Western Carolina comes into Wednesday night's clash looking to open Southern Conference play in strong fashion on its home floor. The Catamounts have yet to play a league game inside the friendly confines of the Ramsey Center, but it's been a place that the Catamounts have been very tough under the direction of Larry Hunter.
Like last year, the Catamounts are a very young basketball team, and not necessarily in terms of years in school, but it remains a team still getting used to playing with one another. In the backcourt, Western has had a pair of freshman performers leading the way, in Desmond Johnson (4.7 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.4 APG) and Matt Halvorsen (9.7 PPG, 1.2 RPG). Halvorsen is coming off a 21-point effort in the 14-point loss at Samford last Saturday.
Halvorsen has scored in double figures in nine of 15 games so far this season, and his 21 points last time out against Samford marked a career-high. His 35 triples this season lead the team, and he is shooting 36.1% (35-for-97) from three-point range this season.
Senior guard Deriece Parks (10.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.8 APG) will round out the backcourt for the Catamounts. Parks has had some outstanding performances for Western Carolina this season, including a season-high 20-point effort in the 1-point win over Appalachian State earlier this season. Parks has 10 double-figure scoring games this season, and has 34 made trifectas--just one behind freshman Matt Halvorsen. He is shooting 34% (34-for-100) from three-point range this season, and his 20-point effort against Appalachian State was a career-high. Parks' 2.8 assists-per-game also leads the Catamounts.
Underneath the basket, one of the real surprises for the Catamounts continues to be Mike Amius (11.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG). The JUCO transfer has looked like one of the top newcomers in the Southern Conference this season, and one of the highlights of his campaign so far came against Catamount arch-rival Appalachian State, as his dunk in the waning seconds helped the Catamounts pull off the 72-71 win. Amius has seven double-figure scoring performances this season, including having done so in seven of the past eight games, including a career-high 27 points in a win at Chattanooga.
Joining Amius underneath the basket for the Catamounts will be versatile scoring threat Marc Gosselin (7.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG). Gosselin is shooting 37.1% (13-of-35) from three-point range this season, and is shooting 43.8% (46-of-105) from two-point range so far this season. Gosselin has scored in double figures on five occasions this season, including a season-high 14 points in a win over Alabama A&M.
The top performer off the bench for the Catamounts this season has been guard Devin Peterson (7.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG). Peterson comes into the matchup leading the team with 45 assists through the first 15 games this season.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Mercer 76, Western Carolina 72
Halvorsen has scored in double figures in nine of 15 games so far this season, and his 21 points last time out against Samford marked a career-high. His 35 triples this season lead the team, and he is shooting 36.1% (35-for-97) from three-point range this season.
Senior guard Deriece Parks (10.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.8 APG) will round out the backcourt for the Catamounts. Parks has had some outstanding performances for Western Carolina this season, including a season-high 20-point effort in the 1-point win over Appalachian State earlier this season. Parks has 10 double-figure scoring games this season, and has 34 made trifectas--just one behind freshman Matt Halvorsen. He is shooting 34% (34-for-100) from three-point range this season, and his 20-point effort against Appalachian State was a career-high. Parks' 2.8 assists-per-game also leads the Catamounts.
Underneath the basket, one of the real surprises for the Catamounts continues to be Mike Amius (11.5 PPG, 5.1 RPG). The JUCO transfer has looked like one of the top newcomers in the Southern Conference this season, and one of the highlights of his campaign so far came against Catamount arch-rival Appalachian State, as his dunk in the waning seconds helped the Catamounts pull off the 72-71 win. Amius has seven double-figure scoring performances this season, including having done so in seven of the past eight games, including a career-high 27 points in a win at Chattanooga.
Joining Amius underneath the basket for the Catamounts will be versatile scoring threat Marc Gosselin (7.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG). Gosselin is shooting 37.1% (13-of-35) from three-point range this season, and is shooting 43.8% (46-of-105) from two-point range so far this season. Gosselin has scored in double figures on five occasions this season, including a season-high 14 points in a win over Alabama A&M.
The top performer off the bench for the Catamounts this season has been guard Devin Peterson (7.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG). Peterson comes into the matchup leading the team with 45 assists through the first 15 games this season.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Mercer 76, Western Carolina 72
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