Mercer returns to court with win over The Citadel
The Mercer Bears returned to the court Saturday at Hawkins Arena four days after Jibri Bryan was killed in downtown Macon, and the Bears cruised to an 88-72 Southern Conference win over The Citadel.
Before the game, Mercer announced that starters Jestin Lewis and Desmond Ringer had been suspended with this statement from athletics director Jim Cole: "The university has suspended Jestin Lewis and Desmond Ringer from participating in the men's basketball program. The suspensions are not based on any involvement in the tragic incident earlier this week. Neither do the suspensions have anything to do with NCAA issues."
Cole later would not say if the suspensions are permanent or when or if the two will return.
But the Bears played through all that adversity with Ethan Stair and Jordan Strawberry moving into the starting lineup, and Mercer had a lot of balance as all 11 Bears players scored.
Mercer improves to 18-6 overall and 8-3 in conference play, while The Citadel drops to 10-14 and 3-8.
FIVE WHO MATTERED
Demetre Rivers: The sophomore started strong and finished with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Andrew Fisher: The 7-foot-1 junior college transfer had his best game with the Bears, scoring a career-high 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Fishler hit 7-of-9 from the floor and 6-of-9 from the free-throw line.
Phillip Leonard/Strawberry: The Bears' point guard duo combined for 18 points and 10 assists with five turnovers against the Bulldogs' pressing defense.
Stephon Jelks: The Bears' emotional leader had a strong all-around game with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
OBSERVATIONS
Dominant in the paint: The Citadel really doesn't have much of an inside game, and Mercer took advantage, outscoring the Bulldogs 54-24 in the paint.
Controlling the glass: Mercer finished with a 60-36 rebound advantage, setting a program record for rebounds in a game.
Three-point defense: The Bulldogs focus their offense on the 3-pointer, and the Bears kept that under control, limiting the Bulldogs to 11-of-43 from 3-point range.
WORTH MENTIONING
Another record crowd: For the third time this month, Mercer played in front of a crowd of more than 4,000 at Hawkins Arena with 4,772 in attendance Saturday, setting the arena record for the second time since the new year.
THEY SAID IT
Strawberry on getting back out on the court: "I think the big key was (head coach Bob Hoffman) just wanted us to go out there and play, just go out there and play and have fun. It wasn't about winning (Saturday), but it was about coming out and doing our best and having fun. It was definitely nice to get back out there and forget about everything during the game and just play our game."
Rivers on the win: "We just wanted to stay focused through all the adversity this week and everything that happened. Just us staying together and bonding, we stayed a couple of nights at Coach's house, and that was a big key, that helped us."
Fishler on his big game: "The key was just to come out and stay together, and Coach has been telling us, 'Together, we will.' So we have to stay strong through the thick and thin and play for each other and stay strong for each other."
Hoffman on his team's perseverance: "It was just amazing how our guys competed over and over again. I mentioned to them before the game that if we could find a way (Saturday), that this would be one of the best, right up there with every good win I've had. I've been fortunate to be in a lot of special wins in 36 years of coaching, and I told them after the game, it was just an amazing moment. And then on top of that to have our old guys there and being so excited and being an encourager for our guys, and then being in the locker room with them, there were all kinds of magic moments (Saturday) in the midst of really tough times for our team."
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Bears host Chattanooga on Monday in a key Southern Conference showdown.
This story was originally published February 6, 2016 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Mercer returns to court with win over The Citadel ."