Friday, January 10, 2020

Game #15 - Mercer in "Pack the RAC Day"


In the fifteenth game of the season, the Catamounts return to Cullowhee and the Ramsey Center where they are undefeated and own a 6-0 record this season. The Cats also bring in a 4 game winning streak, having just earned two road victories over The Citadel and VMI.


Game #15 - Mercer Bears

When: Saturday, January 11, 2020, at 5:00 pm
Where: Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, NC
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
-announcer: Gary Ayers (PxP)
TV/video: ESPN+
-announcer: Daniel Hooker (PxP), Jeff Bryson (analyst)
Live Stats: WCU Live Stats
Fan Message Board: MU Bear Down
The Series: The series between Western and the Mercer started back in 1978 and Western owns an 8-9 overall record against the Bears. The two teams are tied 5-5 in conference play since 2015 when the Bears joined the Southern Conference. The Cats own a 4-3 record in games played in Cullowhee.
VMI's 2019-20 record: 6-10 overall, 2-4 away, 0-3 SoCon

Head Coach Greg Gary, in his first season at the helm of the Bears, had only two starters return from last season's 11-20 team. Not only did the Bears lose two seniors from last season, but they also lost 5 freshmen and one sophomore from that roster, possibly due to the coaching change.

So far this season, the Bears rank #9 in the SoCon in scoring offense, with 71.1 points per game (ppg), and number #7 in scoring defense, giving up 72.1 ppg. Senior Ethan Stair leads the squad in scoring (16.8) and is second in the SoCon in rebounding (8.9). He's shooting 47.2 percent overall including 39.6 percent from 3pt range, along with an 88.9 percent success rate at the free-throw line. - Djordje Dimitrijevic (14.6) and Jeff Gary (10.2) also average in double digits.

In SoCon play, the Bears are 0-3, but with close losses at home to Furman (64-62) and Chattanooga (61-70) and on the road at UNCG (72-63).  Mercer comes into the Ramsey Center with 2 straight losses.

This will be the second game of a doubleheader for the Catamounts, as the women's team faces ETSU at 2:00 pm.

So, it's "Pack the RAC" day in Cullowhee.  Come out and see the new digital scoreboard in the Ramsey Activity Center.




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