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| Furman has won eight-straight over Mercer |
Furman (10-3, 0-0 SoCon) at Mercer (5-6, 0-0 SoCon), 7:30 p.m.
Coaches: Furman-Bob Richey (58-22, 3rd yr)/Mercer-Greg Gary (5-6,1st yr)
When: Dec. 20, 2019/7:30 p.m.
Where: Macon, GA/Hawkins Arena (6,500)
Series: Furman leads 17-10
Players to watch for the Bears:
Mercer and Furman will play the fourth Southern Conference game of the 2019-20 season on Friday night at Hawkins Arena, and for Mercer’s Greg Gary, it will be his first Southern Conference game in charge of the Mercer Bears basketball program.
The Bears will enter the matchup with some momentum as well, having downed UNC Wilmington 72-63 on the road. The win for the Bears snapped what had been a four-game losing streak for the Bears. It was Mercer’s second road win of the season, hitting 11 three-pointers in the win over the Seahawks.
Furman comes in off a six-day break following an 80-73 win over Winthrop the last time out, which was the first of three of three meetings in the ‘Weekends at the Well’ series to be played in downtown Greenville at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Furman’s win over Winthrop at the Well marked the 100th win by the Paladin basketball program since the start of the 2015-16 season. The Paladins are 51-21 in SoCon play over that same span.
The Paladins come into the meeting with the Bears having won eight-straight in the series, including all three meetings last season. Furman’s 85-74 win over the Bears in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament proved to be the final game for Bob Hoffman as head coach following an 11-year run in Macon, which saw the veteran head coach record at 202-153 record at the helm of the Bears basketball program, including a 2014 NCAA Tournament appearance and win over Duke.
Former Purdue top assistant Greg Gary has taken the reins of the Mercer basketball program, and has experienced his fair share of ups and down in his first month-and-a-half of the 2019-20 season, with the most notable adversity being the injury to All-SoCon guard and leading scorer Ross Cummings (9.5 PPG).
It is important to note the sharp-shooter from Dickson, Tenn., hadn’t played since Nov. 23 until his return on Monday night against UNC Wilmington, and he logged eight minutes of floor time and scored three points. It’s unclear how much time he will end up playing against Furman Friday night, but if he plays, he makes Mercer a much better basketball team.
The Paladins did a pretty good job defensively against Cummings last season, limiting him to 12.0 PPG average in three meetings. That was 5.4 PPG under his 17.4 PPG he ended up averaging for the season. Cummings shot 40% (101-for-253) from three-point land last season and is shooting 41.2% (7-for-17) from three-point range this season.
As a team, Mercer is shooting 35.6% (80-of-225) from three-point range through 11 games so far this season. Cummings’ return to health should see Mercer’s shooting percentage from deep improve some as the season progresses.
The Bears top player so far this season has been guard Ethan Stair (18.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG). The 6-4 senior guard currently ranks second in the SoCon in scoring and leads the league in rebounding, and is making a case for SoCon Player of the Year plaudits so far through non-conference play at least.
Stair is the reigning Southern Conference Player of the Week, and scored 16 points to go with 16 rebounds for the Bears to lead Mercer to its first road win of the season. Stair also leads the SoCon in double-doubles with six so far this season, which also ranks 11th in the nation.
Stair is shooting a blistering 41.1% from three-point land this season, and he has hit a team-high 30 triples, connecting on 30-of-73 from long range. Stair scored in double figures in all three clashes with the Paladins last season, with his best performance coming in Mercer’s 71-58 loss in Greenville, posting 15 points on 5-of-13 shooting from the field, including going 2-for-6 from three-point land. The senior guard followed up that performance with 10 and 13-point performances in the next two meetings with the Paladins in the 2018-19 season.
Set to start along with Stair in the Mercer backcourt Friday night will by senior Djordje Dimitrijevic (15.8 PPG, 3.4 APG) and sophomore Daniel Love (5.6 PPG, 2.2 APG). Collectively, the Mercer starting trio in the backcourt is accounting for 40.1 of Mercer’s 72.5 PPG so far this season.
Dimitrijevic scored a season-high 24 points in the Bears 82-74 win over Columbia International back in November, and is shooting 36% (21-of-58) from downtown this season. His 3.4 assists-per-game ranks fifth in the SoCon, and also ranks sixth in the league in assist-turnover ratio (1:4).
Love enjoyed his best outing of the season in a win earlier this season over former conference rival Florida Gulf Coast, posting 16 points in the 84-68 win by the Bears.
Rounding out the probable starting five for the Bears will be 6-11 West Virginia transfer Maciej Bender (5.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG) and 6-6 freshnman James Glisson III (8.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG).
Glisson III has been one of the most impressive freshmen in the SoCon so far this season, and like Love, also posted his best performance of the season against FGCU, posting 18 points.
Projected Starting Five for Mercer:
G-Djordje Dimitrijevic
G-Daniel Love
G-Ethan Stair
F-James Glisson III
C-Maciej Bender
Players to watch for the Paladins:
Furman has been using an eight-to-nine man rotation throughout non-conference play. An ankle injury to freshman forward Ben Beeker a couple of weeks ago has limited Bob Richey’s club to eight more often than not as of late.
Furman comes into its SoCon opener being led by senior guard Jordan Lyons, who leads four Paladins averaging in double figures, posting 15.3 PPG, and is coming off a 26-point effort the last time out against Winthrop.
The Peachtree City, GA product has connected on 238-career three pointers, needing just 36 more triples this season to surpass Eric Webb’s mark of 273-career triples, which he established from 2003-07.
In seven career games against Mercer, Lyons has 99 points against the Bears, with 49 of those coming in the last two clashes. Since scoring just three points in his first-ever game against the Bears, Lyons has scored in double figures in each of the past six. He is averaging 14.1 PPG against Mercer in his career.
He will be joined in the Paladin backcourt by junior point guard Alex Hunter (9.6 PPG, 3.5 APG), who currently ranks fourth in the SoCon in assists-per-game (3.5 APG), and has been among the best in the nation in taking care of the basketball this season, ranking second in the nation (5.75).
One of the storylines for the Paladins this season has been the consistent production from Furman big men. Redshirt junior Clay Mounce (14.2 PPG, 6.7 RPG) and redshirt sophomore Noah Gurley (15.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG) are off to outstanding starts to the season for the Paladins.
Mounce has scored in double figures in 11-of-13 games this season for the Paladins, while Gurley has hit double figures in 10-of-13 games this season, including each of the past six games, which includes a 22-point outing vs. No. 10 Auburn and a career-high 29-point effort vs USC Upstate.
Mounce currently ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in five different offensive categories, and currently ranks second in the SoCon in steals (30 steals/2.3 SPG). Gurley ranks ninth in the SoCon in field goal percentage, connecting on 56.5% from the field so far this season.
Sophomore forward Jalen Slawson (5.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG) rounds out the starters for the Paladins, and he has seen both ups and downs offensively this season, but has been one of the Paladins’ best defenders when he can stay out of foul trouble. His athleticism gives Furman a true rim protector in the paint.
Furman’s top defender might be Tre Clark (3.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG), who has come off the bench and provided excellent energy throughout the season, while big shot Mike Bothwell might be the most-improved offensive performer on Furman’s entire roster. It was Bothwell’s three-point play the old fashioned way with time winding down that allowed Furman to come away with an impressive 58-57 win over UT-Arlington in a game played at Elon’s Schar Center.
Jaylon Pugh (4.5 PPG, 1.3 RPG) can score points in a hurry off the bench, and the sophomore guard currently leads the SoCon in three-point field goal percentage this season, hitting a scorching 61.9% (13-of-21) from long-range this season.
Projected Starting five for Furman:
G-Alex Hunter
G-Jordan Lyons
F-Clay Mounce
F-Noah Gurley
F-Jalen Slawson
Projected Outcome: Furman 77, Mercer 70
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