2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

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2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Mercer Bears wordmark.svg
ConferenceSouthern Conference
2016–17 record15–17 (9–9 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Doug Esleeck
  • Jarred Merrill
  • Jason Eaker
Home arenaHawkins Arena
Seasons
2016–17 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East Tennessee State † 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
UNC Greensboro 14 – 4   .778 25 – 10   .714
Furman 14 – 4   .778 23 – 12   .657
Chattanooga 10 – 8   .556 19 – 12   .613
Wofford 10 – 8   .556 16 – 17   .485
Mercer 9 – 9   .500 15 – 17   .469
Samford 8 – 10   .444 20 – 16   .556
The Citadel 4 – 14   .222 12 – 21   .364
Western Carolina 4 – 14   .222 9 – 23   .281
VMI 3 – 15   .167 6 – 24   .200
† 2017 SoCon Tournament winner

The 2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by ninth-year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus as third-year members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 9–9 in SoCon play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon Tournament to East Tennessee State.

Previous season[]

The Bears finished the 2015–16 season 19–15, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. They defeated The Citadel in the first round of the SoCon Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to East Tennessee State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Coastal Carolina.

Murder of Jibri Bryan[]

Jibri Bryan, a sixth-year senior, was shot and killed on February 2, 2016. He was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the driver's seat of a Chevy Monte Carlo parked in a convenience store in Macon, Georgia. Bryan played in six games in the 2015–16 season due to a knee injury, averaging 7.8 points per game. Jarvis Clinton Miller has been charged in the murder of Bryan after attempting to flee from the crime scene. In a statement, Mercer coach Bob Hoffman said, "Jibri Bryan was a special young man who was a great contributor to our team and did everything that was asked of him.[1]

Roster[]

2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Desmond Ringer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr McDonough, Georgia
F 1 Cory Kilby 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Ada, Oklahoma
G 2 Jaylen Stowe 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Harrisburg, North Carolina
G 3 Stephen Gavin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Savannah, Georgia
G 5 Jordan Strawberry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Anaheim, California
G 10 Ria'n Holland 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 152 lb (69 kg) Jr Fayetteville, North Carolina
G 13 Ryan Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS So Greensboro, North Carolina
G 14 Ethan Stair 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Hazel Green, Alabama
F 15 Stephon Jelks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Marietta, Georgia
G 20 Darius Roy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Lawton, Oklahoma
F 23 Demetre Rivers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Ladson, South Carolina
F 23 Ross Cummings 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Dickson, Tennessee
G 25 Rashad Lewis 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 156 lb (71 kg) Jr Valdosta, Georgia
C 33 Mac Brydon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Fr Charlotte, North Carolina
C 44 JJ N'Ganga 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Aubervilliers, France
C 55 Andrew Fishler 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS Sr Cumming, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results[]

[2]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
8:30 pm, ESPN3 		Brewton–Parker W 87–53  1–0
 Hawkins Arena (3,553)
Macon, GA
11/13/2016*
8:00 pm, ESPNU 		vs. Florida L 54–76  1–1
 Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (3,716)
Jacksonville, FL
11/20/2016*
2:00 pm 		Georgia Southern
Savannah Invitational 		W 80–67  2–1
 Hawkins Arena (3,508)
Macon, GA
11/22/2016*
7:00 pm, ASN 		Radford
Savannah Invitational 		W 58–47  3–1
 Hawkins Arena (2,572)
Macon, GA
11/25/2016*
5:00 pm, ESPN3 		vs. East Carolina
Savannah Invitational semifinals 		W 70–66  4–1
 Savannah Civic Center (2,263)
Savannah, GA
11/26/2016*
7:30 pm 		vs. Akron
Savannah Invitational finals 		L 63–65  4–2
 Savannah Civic Center (2,391)
Savannah, GA
11/29/2016*
7:00 pm 		Davidson L 57–78  4–3
 Hawkins Arena (3,228)
Macon, GA
12/03/2016*
4:00 pm 		at George Mason L 68–79  4–4
 EagleBank Arena (3,560)
Fairfax, VA
12/07/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Oglethorpe W 98–41  5–4
 Hawkins Arena (2,625)
Macon, GA
12/10/2016*
4:00 pm, ACCN Extra 		at Clemson L 47–90  5–5
 Littlejohn Coliseum (7,514)
Clemson, SC
12/18/2016*
1:00 pm, SECN 		at Auburn L 74–76  5–6
 Auburn Arena (7,991)
Auburn, AL
12/22/2016*
7:00 pm, ASN 		La Salle L 96–98 3OT 5–7
 Hawkins Arena (3,272)
Macon, GA
12/28/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Kennesaw State W 80–76  6–7
 KSU Convocation Center (1,506)
Kennesaw, GA
SoCon regular season
12/31/2016
1:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Wofford L 71–88  6–8
(0–1) 		Benjamin Johnson Arena (1,083)
Spartanburg, SC
01/02/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Furman L 69–71  6–9
(0–2) 		Timmons Arena (1,378)
Greenville, SC
01/05/2017
7:30 pm, ESPN3 		VMI W 68–50  7–9
(1–2) 		Hawkins Arena (2,754)
Macon, GA
01/07/2017
4:30 pm, ESPN3 		East Tennessee State L 58–67  7–10
(1–3) 		Hawkins Arena (3,739)
Macon, GA
01/11/2017
8:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Samford W 68–65  8–10
(2–3) 		Pete Hanna Center (1,826)
Homewood, AL
01/14/2017
4:30 pm, ASN 		Chattanooga L 68–70  8–11
(2–4) 		Hawkins Arena (3,672)
Macon, GA
01/19/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at UNC Greensboro L 66–68  8–12
(2–5) 		Greensboro Coliseum (2,073)
Greensboro, NC
01/21/2017
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Carolina W 70–50  9–12
(3–5) 		Ramsey Center (1,685)
Cullowhee, NC
01/28/2017
4:30 pm, ESPN3 		The Citadel W 82–66  10–12
(4–5) 		Hawkins Arena (4,328)
Macon, GA
01/30/2017
7:00 pm, ASN 		Western Carolina W 62–47  11–12
(5–5) 		Hawkins Arena (2,789)
Macon, GA
02/02/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Furman L 68–70  11–13
(5–6) 		Hawkins Arena (3,383)
Macon, GA
02/04/2017
4:30 pm, ESPN3 		Wofford L 62–65  11–14
(5–7) 		Hawkins Arena (4,386)
Macon, GA
02/09/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at VMI W 81–51  12–14
(6–7) 		Cameron Hall (1,023)
Lexington, VA
02/11/2017
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		at East Tennessee State L 71–88  12–15
(6–8) 		Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,225)
Johnson City, TN
02/18/2017
1:00 pm, ESPN3 		at The Citadel W 89–78  13–15
(7–8) 		McAlister Field House (3,809)
Charleston, SC
02/22/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		UNC Greensboro L 66–72  13–16
(7–9) 		Hawkins Arena (2,877)
Macon, GA
02/25/2017
5:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Chattanooga W 64–54  14–16
(8–9) 		McKenzie Arena (5,632)
Chattanooga, TN
02/27/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Samford W 88–79  15–16
(9–9) 		Hawkins Arena (3,021)
Macon, GA
SoCon Tournament
03/04/2017
8:30 pm, ESPN3 		(6) vs. (3) East Tennessee State
Quarterfinals 		L 66–73  15–17
 U.S. Cellular Center (5,127)
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References[]

  1. ^ "Officials charge man in murder of Mercer's Jibri Bryan; gunman at large". ESPN. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016-17 Men's Basketball Schedule - Mercer". Mercerbears.com. Retrieved 2016-11-09.
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