Game #11 - Mercer

After four postponed games, the Cats take to the road and travel down to Macon, Georgia to face the Mercer Bears. The Bears and Cats are the only two teams remaining without a conference win. 

When: Saturday, January 16, 2021, at 42pm
Where: Hawkins Arena, Macon, GA 
Radio:  Catamount Sports Network
-announcers:  Gary Ayers, Daniel Hooker

TV/video: The game between the Bears and Catamounts is the "Ingles SoCon Game of the Week" and will be broadcast throughout the league's six-state footprint across a network of Nexstar stations. Nexstar affiliates airing games include WYCW (Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville), WMUB (Macon), and WWCW (Lynchburg/Roanoke) (check local listings for availability). The game can also be seen on ESPN+ (subscription required). WSPA Sports Director Pete Yanity will provide play-by-play and 20-year coaching veteran Dean Keener will serve as the color analyst.

Official Athletic Site:  Mercer Bears
Bears Fan Message Board:  MU Bear Down

The Series: In a series that started in 1978 with the Bears, the two teams are knotted at 10 wins apiece. The Cats are 4-4 in games played in Macon and are coming off a win from the 2020 SoCon tournament. 

Bears' record this season (2020-21): 7-4 overall, 4-1 home, 3-3 away,  0-3 SoCon 

Bears' record last season (2019-20): 17-15 overall, 11-7 SoCon, 9-6 home, 8-6 away, 0-3 neutral

Game Notes:       Western Carolina       -        Mercer  

Mark Prosser's record vs. Mercer:   3-4

Mercer Head Coach:  Greg Gary

Record at Mercer:   24 - 19  /  2d season

Key Returners: Ross Cummings, Jeffrey Gary, Maciej Bender, Kamar Robertson, James Glisson III
Key Losses: Djordje Dimitrijevic, Ethan Stair
Key Newcomers: Neftali Alvarez (Fairfield), Felipe Haase (South Carolina) 

The Bears come into this game on a three-game conference slide, losing to Wofford, Furman, & Chattanooga. The Bears got off to a hot winning 7 games before starting conference play, with wins over Ga Tech, Ga State, & Ga Southern.

Mercer is averaging 81.5 points per game (5th in SoCon) and holding opponents to an average of 74.1 ppg (8th in SoCoCon), hitting 49% of their field goal attempts and 37% of 3-point attempts. The Bears average 68% of attempts from the charity stripe and are turning-over the ball an average of 14 times per game. Mercer has four players currently with scoring averages in double figures, led by Ross Cummings at 17 ppg, followed by Felipe Haase with 12.7 ppg, Neftali Alvarez 12.7 ppg, Leon Ayers 11.8& Maciej Bender 11.7 ppg.