Jordan Strawberry, Mercer look to bounce back from loss

The Mercer Bears didn't seem too upset about their first Southern Conference loss of the season at Wednesday afternoon's practice.

That might be because of how they lost.

The Bears rallied from a 22-point deficit to pull within two points only to have the Chattanooga Mocs pull away for the win. That left the Bears at 11-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play as they prepare to face The Citadel on Saturday.

"I think we learned how we were ready to fight," backup point guard Jordan Strawberry said. "We were down 22, and we didn't give up, and we came back, and we fought and fought and fought, and in the end, there were some little things that didn't go our way, so I think that was a learning experience of us being able to fight."

Strawberry certainly showed plenty of fight.

With starting point guard Phillip Leonard in early foul trouble, Strawberry scored a career-high 24 points, hitting 8-of-12 shots. Strawberry was 2-of-4 from 3-point range and made all six of his free throws.

The sophomore also matched his career high with four rebounds and had three assists and a steal.

"I think just the hard work throughout the Christmas break and just putting in the time in the gym, shooting shots that I'm going to shoot in the game and seeing them go in, that helped me a lot," Strawberry said of the key to his performance. "So that was definitely the big key right there."

Now the Bears turn their focus to The Citadel, which is 7-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play. The Bulldogs are averaging 90.8 points per game in head coach Duggar Baucom's first season with the program.

"You know they're going to get a lot of shots; they're going to press us a lot," Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman said. "We've got to take care of the ball. We've got to be really good about shot selection, and then we've got to attack the basket at the right times and take advantage of that press."

The Bears have taken advantage of their opponents for most of the season with their balanced attack.

Jestin Lewis leads the Bears, averaging 11.8 points per game, while Southern Conference Player of the Month Stephon Jelks is averaging 11.7 points and 8.9 rebounds. Five other Mercer players are averaging at least 6.5 points, and that includes Strawberry at 6.6.

"We're all together, and we're all working hard together, and we all want to win, and that's a big thing," Strawberry said. "So I think we're going to be a really good team come March."

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Jordan Strawberry, Mercer look to bounce back from loss ."