2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Conference Southern Conference
2016–17 record 4–3 (0–0 SoCon)
Head coach Bob Hoffman (9th year)
Assistant coach Doug Esleeck
Assistant coach Jarred Merrill
Assistant coach Jason Eaker
Home arena Hawkins Arena
2016–17 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
East Tennessee State 0 0       5 1   .833
Chattanooga 0 0       4 2   .667
Mercer 0 0       4 2   .667
UNC Greensboro 0 0       4 2   .667
The Citadel 0 0       3 3   .500
Furman 0 0       3 3   .500
Samford 0 0       3 3   .500
Western Carolina 0 0       2 4   .333
VMI 0 0       1 4   .200
Wofford 0 0       1 5   .167
† 2017 SoCon Tournament winner
As of December 6, 2016; 

The 2016–17 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represents Mercer University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by ninth year head coach Bob Hoffman, play their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus and are third year members of the Southern Conference.

Previous season

They 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 Home town
F 0 Ringer, DesmondDesmond Ringer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Jr McDonough, Georgia
F 1 Kilby, CoryCory Kilby 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Ada, Oklahoma
G 2 Stowe, JaylenJaylen Stowe 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Harrisburg, North Carolina
G 3 Gavin, StephenStephen Gavin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Savannah, Georgia
G 5 Strawberry, JordanJordan Strawberry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Anaheim, California
G 10 Holland, Ria'nRia'n Holland 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 152 lb (69 kg) Jr Fayetteville, North Carolina
G 13 Johnson, RyanRyan Johnson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) RS So Greensboro, North Carolina
G 14 Stair, EthanEthan Stair 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Hazel Green, Alabama
F 15 Jelks, StephonStephon Jelks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Marietta, Georgia
G 20 Roy, DariusDarius Roy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Lawton, Oklahoma
F 23 Rivers, DemetreDemetre Rivers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Ladson, South Carolina
F 23 Cummings, RossRoss Cummings 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Dickson, Tennessee
G 25 Lewis, RashadRashad Lewis 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 156 lb (71 kg) Jr Valdosta, Georgia
C 33 Brydon, MacMac Brydon 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Fr Charlotte, North Carolina
C 44 N'Ganga, JJJJ N'Ganga 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Aubervilliers, France]]
C 55 Fishler, AndrewAndrew 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
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   
EagleBank Arena 
Fairfax, VA

12/07/2016*
7:00 pm
Oglethorpe   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

12/10/2016*
4:00 pm, ACCN Extra
at Clemson   
Littlejohn Coliseum 
Clemson, SC

12/18/2016*
1:00 pm, SECN
at Auburn   
Auburn Arena 
Auburn, AL

12/22/2016*
7:00 pm
La Salle   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

12/28/2016*
7:00 pm
at Kennesaw State   
KSU Convocation Center 
Kennesaw, GA
SoCon regular season

12/31/2016
1:00 pm
at Wofford   
Benjamin Johnson Arena 
Spartanburg, SC

01/02/2017
7:00 pm
at Furman   
Timmons Arena 
Greenville, SC

01/05/2017
7:30 pm
VMI   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

01/07/2017
4:30 pm
East Tennessee State   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

01/11/2017
8:00 pm
at Samford   
Pete Hanna Center 
Homewood, AL

01/14/2017
4:30 pm
Chattanooga   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

01/19/2017
7:00 pm
at UNC Greensboro   
Greensboro Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC

01/21/2017
2:00 pm
at Western Carolina   
Ramsey Center 
Cullowhee, NC

01/28/2017
4:30 pm
The Citadel   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

01/30/2017
7:00 pm, ASN
Western Carolina   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

02/02/2017
7:00 pm
Furman   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

02/04/2017
4:30 pm
Wofford   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

02/09/2017
7:00 pm
at VMI   
Cameron Hall 
Lexington, VA

02/11/2017
4:00 pm
at East Tennessee State   
Freedom Hall Civic Center 
Johnson City, TN

02/18/2017
1:00 pm
at The Citadel   
McAlister Field House 
Charleston, SC

02/22/2017
7:00 pm
UNC Greensboro   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA

02/25/2017
5:00 pm
at Chattanooga   
McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, TN

02/27/2017
7:00 pm
Samford   
Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
SoCon Tournament

03/03/2017–
03/06/2017

vs.    
U.S. Cellular Center 
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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