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(03/19/15 12:58pm)
One of the two Mercer teams left in the Atlantic Sun Conference is the Women's Sand Volleyball Team, which has the hope to add to Mercer's collection of A-Sun titles. The Southern Conference does not have a sand volleyball program, so unlike most Mercer sports who made the jump, the Lady Bears will remain in the same conference this year and will hope to improve on last season’s results.
They are already off to a good start, as they sit 4-4 but have won two in row by a tally of 5-0 against New Orleans and Spring Hill at the Tulane Pelican Classic. The lady Bears went 3-1 at the tournament, with their only loss coming from the host school, Tulane.
Tori Penrod and Emma Peel have already brought home hardware this season as they opened the year by winning the Golden Bracket Championship at the Carolina Classic. Penrod, a sophomore is coming off of an impressive freshman campaign that saw her win numerous awards including Freshman of the Year for the conference and A-Sun All-Conference Team. Peel also earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad last season, and now, with the two paired together, they may turn out to be a tough duo to defeat.
The Lady Bears also return the top winning duo from last season, Emily Rochefort and Zoe Becton. This duo will look to increase their win total from last season, which was 10, and to help lead the team to a conference title and into the national title picture.
Rochefort will also be looking for another season on the conference’s All-Academic Team along with teammate Erin Brett.
Since the program began in 2012, it has continued to gain traction toward a conference title, as last season it notched nine wins, which was the most that they have had in a single season. They also topped it off with their first postseason victory in the program's history.
The Lady Bears’ season ended at the hands of the Stetson Hatters in the second round of the Atlantic Sun tournament, and Stetson went on to win the entire tournament. This season, the Lady Bears will start conference play on March 27th and 28th at home against North Florida and Florida Gulf Coast before they head out on the road to face the Jacksonville Dolphins and the Stetson Hatters. The team will end their regular season against rival UAB on April 8th.
They will then begin their prep for the Atlantic Sun Tournament, which will take place on April 18th and 19th in Fort Myers, Fl. Stetson will be the favorite going in, having won the title last year and already off to a blistering 5-1 start including a victory over the ninth ranked team in the country FIU.
The other team that will be gunning for the top spot is the North Florida Ospreys. The Ospreys have only lost one match in the Atlantic Sun Tournament in three years, which came from Stetson in the final last year. North Florida and Stetson seem to be the top two teams in the conference, but the up-and-coming Bears could be the dark horses that take the conference title. The team will need a full team effort in order to do so and get by those two powerhouses.
These Bears have gotten better every year. This year may be the best yet, as they have added new pieces and returned plenty of veteran leadership. The Lady Bears will look to spike the competition and hoist up their first conference trophy.
(03/19/15 12:55pm)
March is tournament time. Last week, 10 teams and their fan bases invaded the town of Asheville, N.C., for the Southern Conference Tournament. Each team had one goal in mind: to reach the NCAA tournament. Win and you are in the “big dance.” The regular season held no water in what a team can do in March.
The first day of match ups included the bottom four in the regular season standings, as they looked to play their way into the tournament and face the top two seeds the next day.
The first game matched UNCG and Samford, with both teams coming in with identical records in conference play at 6-12. The two teams battled back and forth all game long. In the end, UNCG prevailed with a 81-76 win, with Diante Baldwin leading with a career high of 19 points. This set up a match up with one seeded Wofford in the second round.
The other day-one match up saw The Citadel take on Furman. Furman came into the tournament with the worst record overall with just 11 wins but proved that they could win in the tournament in the form of a blowout 73-56. Furman's win set them up to play the second seeded Chattanooga Mocs.
Day two offered up four games, and they delivered. With the first round off, Wofford was well rested, and it showed in a 70-52 victory over UNCG as they punched their ticket to the semifinals with ease.
The game that offered the most excitement was the overtime thriller between Western Carolina and ETSU. ETSU charged back in the final minute to force overtime, but it was the Catamounts who would eventually close out the game with a victory 67-61.
Furman came into the game against Chattanooga as heavy underdogs. They took the lead late in the game with 5:40 remaining and never let go of it, winning 69-67. Furman pulled the upset despite Ronrico White hitting three straight three-pointers to end the game for the Mocs, as Furman’s Geoff Beans answered at the free throw line.
The last matchup of day two pitted Mercer against VMI. Mercer cruised to an easy victory in this game but lost one of their stars Darious Moten to a broken elbow. Even with a starter out, it turned out to be a bittersweet 89-61 victory for the Bears.
In the semifinals, Wofford held off a late charge by Western Carolina and won its matchup 73-61, as the team beat its second straight tournament opponent by double digits. Spencer Collins 17 points paced the Terriers in the win.
With a chance to meet Wofford in the championship game, Mercer and Furman squared off in a back and forth type of game. Mercer jumped out early behind freshman Stephon Jelks, who was starting in place of the injured senior, but Jelks ended up hurting his ankle toward the end of the first half. The shorthanded Bears lost the lead late in the game and were not able to regain it despite Jelks trying to play through his injury. Their championship run ended at the hands of Furman 52-49, as Ike Nwamu's three-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.
The final stage was set with one team who most predicted would be there while the other had not won consecutive games since late January. The Cinderella story of the SoCon finally struck midnight when Wofford hit two late free throws to put them up 67-64, as Furman's last second three-pointer fell just short of the basket.
Wofford won the SoCon tournament and punched their ticket to the dance, where they will face the Arkansas Razorbacks in the first round.
The Mercer Bears’ first year in the SoCon did not end in the NCAA tournament like many had hoped, but they showed true heart and integrity throughout the tournament and proved why they will be a force in the conference for many years to come.
(02/27/15 4:28pm)
Freshman Stephon Jelks is just a few months into his basketball career at Mercer University, and he is already making an impact.
The stats do not tell the whole story of Jelks as a player. He is only averaging 3.8 points per game, but Jelks is a burst of energy off the bench and makes lots of hustle plays which shows up in the team’s end result. Against the Citadel, he had his career high in points when he totaled 11.
Stephon graduated from North Cobb Christian School, where he was honored as a two-time all-state player in Georgia. In his hometown of Marietta, he was also a two-sport star, as he lettered in both football and basketball while also traveling for AAU basketball.
His mother influenced Stephon into playing basketball, as she also played basketball in high school and taught Stephon the game from an early age.
"My mom is one of my biggest influences,” he said. “She put me in the best situations growing up so that I was able to play my best basketball possible."
The college game is a lot different from high school, based on the skill level of the players on each team, but Stephon felt prepared when he arrived at Mercer.
“The transition from high school basketball to the college level is about what I expected,” said Jelks. “It is more physical, and the games are faster in terms of the pace of play, but it all comes down to how hard I work to improve my game."
Jelk’s personality is also something that people have taken notice of. Before games, he can be seen dancing and having fun as he hypes up the team.
“I'm not this year’s Kevin Canevari, but I do love to dance and motivate my team by showing my energy,” said Jelks.
The Big Dance, like many other division one teams, is the end goal for Jelks and the Bears this season.
"I just want to get help this team get wins and get back to the NCAA tournament,” he said.
Jelks choose to attend Mercer because it offered the best of both worlds for him.
“It’s not too big and not to small. I know all my professors and know most of the people,” said Jelks. “Mercer has had a good basketball program but also a great academic setting."
As of now, Jelks wants to go into the business field or sports broadcasting, but at the moment, he is undeclared on his major. He has already set out goals for both academics and basketball for his time here at Mercer and beyond his playing days here.
“I want to have a long career in basketball, but once my playing days are done, I would like to be a successful businessman or a sports analyst,” said Jelks. “I also want to graduate with a 3.0 GPA and enjoy success in the classroom and on the court, God willing."
His hard work is clearly evident in the way that he plays the game and shows that he will be a force for Mercer while he is here.
"Mercer fans can expect me to be a hardworking devoted basketball player who gives my all on and off the court,” said Jelks. “I want to be able to give back to the community because I love the Mercer fans and all the support they show us."
Jelks feels that there are a couple areas in his game that he wants to work on in order to be the best player he can be.
“I plan on improving my game by being able to take my defender off the dribble, work on ball handling, being a better on ball defender and also being more aggressive when I am at the rim," he said.
As a freshman, Jelks has shown maturity well beyond on his years in both his on the court performances and his off the court demeanor. He has all the making of great Mercer Bear with a very bright future. Jelks will look to build on what many would consider an already successful campaign in his first season of college basketball.
(02/17/15 2:23am)
Before Christmas break, a robbery took place in one of the apartments on campus. The men involved fled the scene after robbing a couple of Mercer students inside their apartment. Chief Gary Collins at Mercer Police said that “an arrest has not been made, but it is an ongoing investigation.”
The main concern is student safety on the campus.
“We think of these students as our own kids and we will do anything in order to ensure their safety,” said Collins.
Student awareness is something that Collins says is vital to their job. “If a student sees something going on or something out of the ordinary, do not hesitate to make the phone call.”
Mercer police is doing more now since the incident, and according to Collins, this is the first time that he has ever experienced a crime like this on the campus.
“Most of the crimes we get are property crimes where someone has left something laying around and their stuff is taken. We have never had something like this in all the years that I have been here.”
Mercer Police is looking into hiring extra officers and implementing more cameras in certain areas on campus, such as the bridge coming into the campus near the rain garden just down from the Mercer Police station. They have also looked into adding extra lighting on campus but said that Mercer is already a very well lit campus at night. He also said, “We are working with Mercer to ensure that faculty, staff, students and visitors are safe.”
Collins offered tips to students on how they could better protect themselves from things like this in the future. “Never open your door without knowing who is there, and if they cannot identify who they are, then call us. Be more aware and walk in groups.”
Collins suggested that students may need to put Mercer police as well as the Bibb County Sheriff’s number in their contacts or speed dial to ensure that they can inform them as quickly as possible if something happens
Lt. Sean DeFoe at the Bibb County Sheriff’s office gave some advice for when students are on and off campus: “Students should call us if they are off campus and see something suspicious or call the campus police if its on campus and we will back them up.”
DeFoe also wants students to pay attention to their surroundings at all times in order to stay safe on and off campus: “Make sure when you are out in Macon to be aware of what is going on around you.”
With Mercer having more students than ever, it is key for everyone to stay aware and to be careful at night or when walking alone. Both Collins and DeFoe agree that students should always try and walk in groups and have the ability to call for help if something does happen. These are just some of the tips that can make a difference in terms of being the victim of a crime or avoiding these situations all together.
The numbers to get in contact with the BSO and Merpo are below.
BSO E-911 Call Center - 478-751-7500
Merpo- 478-301-4357
(02/12/15 1:49am)
Students have begun to ask why the student-led Mercer Maniacs do not come out to the women’s basketball games while they pack out the men’s games.
The organization purpose is to provide a student section for every athletic event, according to Blaze Jeffery, president of Mercer Maniacs.
“We started as Hoffman’s Hooligans a few years back because no one was going to the basketball games,” Jeffrey said. “The last two years, we have really tried to expand out from men’s basketball by going to as many sporting events as possible.”
At the beginning of the school year, the Maniacs made a goal to attended at least one sporting event of every team on campus.In an effort to support Mercer athletics, the Maniacs decorated locker rooms and tailgated for football and soccer games.
”We are actually planning two games for women’s basketball this season,” Jeffery said. “We attended one on Saturday, Feb. 7, and the other will be Feb. 28. The one this past week weekend was solely for the women, and the 28th will be a senior night double-header.”
The plans are to decorate the locker rooms for the games and possible give away free t-shirts for the game on the 28th.
The Maniacs have also scheduled the buses for the SoCon tournament on the March 6 so that they can support both men’s and women’s, as the women will play on that first day.
“We are picking up are support for them, which started last Saturday,” said Jeffery.
One of the possibilities that the Maniacs have tried to look into is a group of Maniacs that support individual sports, almost like pods for each team. They did a sign-up to see which people were interested in which sports.
“We have thrown around the idea of different committees for these sports - Lamb’s Lunatics for football as well as a group for softball called Sike’s Psychos,” said Jeffery. “The problem with that has been finding students who are interested in doing things like that and coordinating with us.”
The Maniacs plans for the future at least is to try and get as much support for each team, but the students are vital to this operation. The more that students get out and support, the better the student section is. Jeffery wants students to come and enjoy the games
“Get there early and grab a front row seat,” said Jeffery. “Everyone is considered a Mercer Maniac, and I just want our students to get out there and experience it even if you aren’t a huge sports fan.”
One of the other events that the Maniacs will be sponsoring is Breaking it with Bacon as they attempt to break the Hawkins arena for a second time this season. Students will receive free pieces of bacon on the Feb. 12 men’s game. This is an effort to try and bring a tailgate-like atmosphere to the basketball games, and if it goes well, the Maniacs may look into doing more events like it.
Overall, Jeffery has high hopes for the student section down the road.
“One day, I hope that maybe we can get the whole student section painted up or, if not, then at least get the whole place packed out for every game, shaking the arena with the possibility of running the student section the entire length of the court like Gonzaga has,” said Jeffery.
The women’s basketball games attendance is abysmal, to say the least, and they deserve better, as they are near the top of the SoCon.
These girls have had a great season and deserve support, and it looks as though the Maniacs will be trying to lead the charge from now on.
(02/12/15 1:46am)
The Lady Bears begin the road to the SoCon tournament. They are 12-11 overall and 4-3 in Southern Conference play. The Lady Bears started out the season strong with a good record out of conference and with big victories victories over University of Alabama and St. Louis University.
They carried that momentum over to the conference schedule, as they scored three straight victories in the conference. The team dropped three SoCon games, but they still sit in prime position to make a run through the conference tournament if they can regain their early season form.
The Lady Bears knocked off Samford this week on the road behind Alicia William’s 20-point performance, including going 3-3 from behind the three-point arc. This moved Mercer into a tie with Samford for third in the conference.
The Lady Bears’ next game will kick off a two-game home stand. UNCG, who has yet to win a game in conference and is a team that Mercer beat on the road by one point earlier in the season, will be their first opponent. They will look to avoid an upset in order to keep pace with the other teams in the SoCon. The second game will be against the Western Carolina Catamount team that Mercer beat by double digits on the road.
The Lady Bears will then hit the road and take on the Furman University Paladins. The last time these two teams played, it ended in a heartbreaking loss for Mercer. The Lady Bears will look to avenge that earlier loss and put some distance between them and Furman in the standings.
Next on the road trip is the Wofford Terriers, a team that Mercer routed in their first meeting by 29 points. Kahlia Lawrence will look to have another stand out game against Wofford after tallying a double-double against them earlier in the season.
In the last road game of the season, Mercer will take on ETSU. The Lady Bears lost the first meeting 72-70 in one of the more thrilling games of the season, as Precious Bridges missed a game-tying shot at the buzzer. Bridges will look to lead the Bears past them this time.
The last two games will be held at home in the friendly confines of Hawkins Arena. Chattanooga is not only the top team in the conference, but also one of the top teams in the nation. The Lady Bears will look to improve after losing by double digits the first time around.
The season ends against Samford and could be the most vital to seeding for the SoCon tournament, as they are tied now. Mercer will attempt to finish the season sweep of the Bulldogs and hopefully claim one of the top three seeds in the conference.
As of now, the Lady Bears are one of the top teams in the conference and shocked many with how well they have played to this point. They will look to build on the tremendous of their leading scorers, senior guard Precious Bridges and freshman Kahlia Lawrence, as they will look to make some noise on the road to the Southern Conference tournament.
(02/12/15 1:37am)
In the last weeks of their season, the Mercer Men's Basketball Team is thoroughly preparing for the Southern Conference Championship. This past week, the team faced the top two teams in the conference, Chattanooga and Wofford.
Ike Nwamu had a massive jam and a clutch three late that propelled the Bears passed Chattanooga in a thrilling overtime game at home.
Mercer and 150 crazed fans traveled to Wofford as the Bears lost in a heartbreaker. The Bears miss three game-tying threes in the final 16 seconds of the game.
By splitting the two games, Mercer remains third in the conference, and it looks as though
Wofford is still the team to beat in the SoCon, as they look to repeat as conference tournament champions.
The stretch run will consist of games against each of the top two teams, which will be vital for seeding in the SoCon tournament. If the Bears can win those games, then they will be near the top of the conference standings and in a prime position to earn the number one seed in Asheville.
The Bears will then take on two teams that they have already beaten once this year, The Citadel and Furman, who are both toward the bottom of the standings. These two games should be wins for the Bears, as they will be heavily favored in both.
The Bears will take on Western Carolina after that, and it gives them the first opportunity to beat a Southern Conference team that they lost to early in the year. The Bears lost to the Catamounts 60-52 after leading going into the half, but the Bears could not hold on. This game will be the start of a three-game home stand for Mercer.
UNCG will play back-to-back games here at Mercer. UNCG is in the bottom two of the SoCon and has not won back-to-back conference games yet, including a loss to Mercer earlier this year.
The Bears close out their road schedule against the best and the worst records in the conference. They first travel to Chattanooga, in what could be a game that decides where both teams end up in the final standings. Samford is the last road game for the Bears and is the easiest game left on the schedule. Mercer will need to avoid an upset in this game.
The final two games of the regular season will take place at Hawkins Arena. The Wofford Terriers will come into town and should be the stiffest test that Mercer faces the rest of the way. Mercer will look to take down the defending SoCon champs. They close out against ETSU, which is the team that dealt Mercer their first Southern Conference loss of the season.
The Bears certainly will be tested on the road to the conference tournament. Mercer will be looking to make a deep run in the tournament and hopefully win the whole thing, with the opportunity to return to the Big Dance. It would be a first in the program's history if they are able to win the conference tournament championship and go to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons.
(11/06/14 12:36am)
After consecutive losses for the first time all year, Mercer was looking to get back on track with a win versus The Citadel.
The Mercer defense took the field first as they looked to open the game with a stop, but the Bulldogs were able to gash the Bears for a 64-yard gain that set up a one-yard run for the score.
The Bears’ offense looked to be clicking early as they drove down the field with John Russ leading the way but had to settle for a 48-yard field goal by Jagger Lieb.
Mercer's defense was unable to stop the Bulldogs on the second drive of the game, as they allowed another rushing touchdown, putting the Bulldogs up on Mercer 14-3.
John Russ and the offense drove down the field again, this time finishing of the drive with a quarterback keeper by Russ from four yards out, making the score 14-10.
The Bulldogs went back on offense and scored another rushing touchdown, putting them on top, 21-10.
After trading punts and Mercer’ turning the ball over on downs, the Citadel scored its fourth rushing touchdown of the half.
The second half started with punts being traded by both teams.
Mercer would drive down the field, but it was halted as John Russ had his pass intercepted at the one-yard line.
The Bears’ defense came up with a huge stop to get the offense back on the field. The drive would again stall, but Jagger Lieb booted his second field goal of the day as the Bears inched closer down, 28-13.
After holding the Bulldogs on fourth down, Mercer came back on offense and John Russ hit Avery Ward on a 65-yard flea flicker pass.
Mercer's defense came up with a huge play, as it forced a Citadel fumble late in the fourth quarter, giving Mercer one last chance to tie the game up.
The Bears’ Alex Lakes rumbled his way in for a two-yard score, but Mercer fell short on the two-point conversion
Mercer falls to 5-5 on the season, as they lose their third straight game. They have a bye week then take on Warner in the home finale as they look to finish out non-conference play undefeated.
(10/10/14 8:12pm)
After 34 years of hard work, dedication and a passion for the game of basketball, Bob Hoffman, head coach of the Mercer Bears men’s basketball team, is finally receiving national recognition.
Coach Hoffman has won the Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year award in 2013 and 2014. He has also been awarded the Atlanta Tipoff Club Georgia Coach of the Year award and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes John Lotz “Barnabas” award. Along with the nine victories over high majors schools, such as Duke University, the Bears also won the Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship in 2014. Coach Hoffman has finally convinced fans and experts alike that he belongs among the best coaches in college basketball.
On July 3, ESPN released its list of top 50 coaches in college basketball, and Coach Hoffman was one of the coaches that they selected. MidMajormadness.com conducted a poll on who is the best mid major coach in the country, and Coach Hoffman received well over fifty percent of the final vote. Again, this shows that Coach Hoffman ranks in the upper echelon of college hoops.
“I already knew he was one of the best coaches in the country, but now I have proof for everybody that he is one of the best,” said senior forward T.J Hallice.
Coach Hoffman looks at the awards and recognition as an honor but turns more of the spotlight on to his players, assistant coaches and the university instead.
“It is an honor for our program to have the exposure when we get mentioned with those other coaches because those guys are unbelievable,” said Hoffman.
His love for the game and the student athletes with whom he gets to work are the things that got him into coaching in the first place.
“I knew in junior high that I wanted to be a coach because I saw it as a vehicle to hopefully make a difference in young people’s lives,” said Hoffman.
A former player is now following in Coach Hoffman’s footsteps. Kevin Canevari, now graduate assistant, decided that he wanted to coach after spending four years under Coach Hoffman. Coach Hoffman was the person who helped influence him into coaching.
“Watching how he motivated our team and got the best out of us, it really inspired me and added fuel to my desire to want to be a coach,” said Canevari.
With all these accomplishments and accolades piling up for Coach Hoffman, he stills remains humble and focused on getting back to NCAA tournament.
Doing so, however, could be a challenge after losing seven seniors to graduation. Coach Hoffman put a lot of time and effort into bringing in guys who can step in immediately.
“We go after guys who are dedicated to the game, who are willing to work and those that can be groomed into not only great players but high character athletes,” said Hoffman.
Stephon Jelks, freshman for the Bears, is one of those players coming with this recruiting class.
“Coach Hoffman really showed he was interested in me and was not like some coaches, who go away and comeback,” said Jelks. “He saw a lot of potential in me and is making me a better player.”
Jelks joins five other freshmen in this class as well the veterans that remain from last season.
Regardless of what this season holds for the Mercer Bears, the fans can be sure to see the same Coach Hoffman patrolling the sidelines with the same fire and passion that he has always had. “The faces may change, but coach and the mentality will never change,” said Hallice.