Holland Paces Bears Past FAMU
The Mercer men’s basketball team returned home to the cold but wasted no time heating up Hawkins Arena thanks in part to the return of Ria’n Holland and the energy of Stephon Jelks. The Bears used phenomenal 3-point shooting to defeat Florida A&M University 82-64 on Star Wars day.
The first half was played from behind the arc. The first seven minutes saw the Bears and Rattlers exchange long-range bombs until senior forward Desmond Ringer grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in for the first 2-point shot from either team.
The second half saw both teams continue to exchange buckets with Mercer building its lead to over 20 points before pulling its starters with about four minutes remaining. In the end, the 16-point halftime lead increased by two as the final horn blew.
Turning Point
Although FAMU was 7-for-12 from the 3-point line in the first half, they were 4-for-12 from everywhere else and 2-for-7 from the free-throw line. Meanwhile, the Bears were 9-for-15 from three, 6-for-13 from inside the arc and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe.
The Rattlers just couldn’t keep up with the offensive output from Mercer and found themselves down 16 at the half.
Three who mattered
Holland- The senior sharp shooter was hot from behind the arc, connecting on six 3-point shots. He was also 4-for-6 from the free-throw line. He paced the Bears with 24 points.
Jelks- The Bears forward gave his best Draymond Green impression. He filled the stat sheet and almost recorded a triple double. He scored 12 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Jordan Strawberry- The California kid connected on three shots from deep, went 3-for-5 from the free throw line, grabbed four rebounds, dished three assists and finished with 12 points.
Observations
Live by the three!
Against Tennessee, the Bears only connected on seven shots from deep and they were beaten by 24 points. Against Memphis, they hit 12 shots from behind the arc and took Memphis to double overtime before falling by two points. Against FAMU, they were sizzling from the three-point line connecting on 14, and they blew out a game Rattlers squad.
They said it
Head coach Bob Hoffman on bouncing back from tough OT loss to Memphis: “I told them it was my fault (the loss to Memphis). I could have called a couple different things, I didn’t put them in the right positions to be successful. They did a great job putting our team in a great place at the end and I would have loved to have run some other things that we didn’t. I thought we had a great week of practice and preparation. We were ready to play and excited to be home.”
On defending three-point shooting: “In general what we’ve got to continue to do is be better on the closeouts. We didn’t do as good as we like tonight but we have a week to get better and that’s all we can do is continue to get better.”
On his favorite Star Wars character: “Obi Wan Kenobi baby! It’s not even close. I like R2D2 also.”
Ria’n Holland on being back from injury: “It felt real good to be back on the court. I sat on the sidelines for three games and it was killing me not to be out there battling with my team.”
Stephon Jelks on the three point barrage to start the game: “It was just crazy, nobody could miss. That’s what basketball is about anybody can shoot the ball through the hoop. That kind of settled down and we started playing defense and got the gap that we needed and got the win.
What’s next?
Mercer will travel to Philadelphia to take on LaSalle on Dec. 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 pm.
This story was originally published December 9, 2017 at 8:02 PM with the headline "Holland Paces Bears Past FAMU."