MACON, Ga.- The Mercer men's basketball team enters the second half of its Atlantic Sun conference schedule looking to build momentum as the Bears pay a visit to league-leading Kennesaw State for the first time Saturday night, with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. in the KSU Convocation Center. Game Notes (pdf)
The Bears are coming off their first road victory of the season, an 82-81 overtime win past Stetson that also snapped the Bears' five-game winless streak. In the first-ever meeting between Mercer and Kennesaw State just nine days ago, the Owls handed Mercer its first home loss of the season, 63-57.
"It will be a tough challenge to play the number one team on their home court," said Mercer head coach Mark Slonaker. "We want to go in and build on the momentum off the road win at Stetson. The last meeting against Kennesaw State was a hard-fought game and we expect nothing less on Saturday." Freshman guard Montavious Waters, who missed the first meeting...
MACON, Ga. - After seeing its five-game winning streak snapped last weekend, the Mercer women's basketball team shot a season-high 52.9 percent from the field to defeat Atlantic Sun newcomer Kennesaw State, 69-55.
After a slow start, the Bears used a 12-4 run over two-minute streak in the first half to take a 22-11 lead midway through. The Lady Owls trimmed the lead down to five with 7:19 remaining in the half off a Shavonder Clarke jumper, but Tanya Kessenich pushed the Bears' lead back to nine with consecutive layups.
Mercer (9-7, 6-3 A-Sun) continued to dominate the paint in the second half led by Sarah Russell and Kessenich. The Bears took advantage of the Lady Owls collapsing on the paint as Sally Skeldon hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Mercer a 10-point lead with 13:24 remaining.
Kennesaw State (2-14, 2-8 A-Sun) cut the lead to seven twice but was unable to get any closer. Both teams mishandled the ball at times but...
The Ten Tenors are winning hearts all over the world. In February, Macon will have the opportunity to experience what everyone is talking about. The internationally-acclaimed Australian singing phenomenon comes to The Grand Opera House, a performing arts center of Mercer University, Tuesday and Wednesday, February 21-22 for two shows only! Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40/$36 and can be purchased through Mercer Ticket Sales at (478) 301-5470 or online at thegrand.mercer.edu.
Fans in Central Georgia will have an early opportunity to see The Ten Tenors when they make an encore appearance on the Tony Danza Show Monday, January 30. The show airs locally on WPGA 58ABC at 12 noon. (See attached photo.)
From the moment The Ten Tenors burst upon the concert scene in Germany in 2001, their international career was launched. Since then, the classically-trained, all-Australian singing sensation has embarked on a relentless touring schedule with sold-out...
MACON, Ga. - After suffering its first loss of 2006, the Mercer women's basketball team returns home to host Atlantic Sun newcomer Kennesaw State tonight at 7 p.m. Game Notes (pdf)
The Bears (8-7, 5-3 A-Sun) had their five-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at North Florida but have done well to protect their home court. Mercer is 4-1 at the University Center this season and is 3-0 at home against A-Sun competition.
Sarah Russell leads Mercer in scoring (11.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.4 rpg), and collected consecutive double-doubles last weekend against Jacksonville and UNF. The junior averaged 12.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the two games.
Russell wasn't the only Bear to shine in Florida. Megan Lewis averaged 10.5 points on 9-of-14 shooting (64.3 percent) during the two-game road trip. The freshman set a career-high with 13 points against Jacksonville.
"This past weekend, our offense wasn't clicking. We've...
DELAND, Fla. - Mercer ended the first half of its conference season on a high note by defeating Stetson, 82-81, in overtime at the Edmunds Center on Tuesday night.
The Bears got off to a quick start in DeLand aided by solid defense and strong rebounding. The Hatters scored the first points of the game off of senior Anthony Register's three-point play. The Bears then proceeded to go on a 15-0 run over the next seven minutes, taking a 15-3 lead at the 11-minute mark. Sophomore Shaddean Aaron paced the Mercer run by dropping in five points.
Mercer and Stetson traded spurts for the remainder of the half as the Bears took a 38-28 lead into intermission. The Bears out-rebounded the Hatters 29-18 in the first half. Mercer shot 42 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes and held Stetson to a 27 percent clip.
Junior Ross Alacqua paced Mercer in the first half, draining a pair of deep three-pointers en route to 10...
MACON, Ga.- In a renewal of the oldest rivalry in the history of Mercer men's basketball, the Bears visit Stetson Tuesday night, with tip off scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Edmunds Center. Game Notes (pdf)
Mercer (3-12, 2-7 A-Sun) has faced Setson more times (107 games) than any other opponent in school history, with the Hatters holding a 64-43 advantage in the overall series. The Bears swept last season's regular-season series, winning their Atlantic Sun Conference opener, 89-76, in DeLand, FLa., on Dec. 2, and topping the Hatters, 74-73, in Macon, on Feb. 25.
"We're looking forward playing one of our longest rivals in the history of the program," said Mercer head coach Mark Slonaker. "We've had some great games the last few years. It's an important game as far as the conference standings go. We need to go out and play a complete game and be competitive."
Stetson (2-15, 2-7 A-Sun), like the Bears, is coming off a two-game homestand that saw the Hatters...
MercerPalooza is the theme for Homecoming 2006 and promises to provide exciting activities for all Mercerians - whether students, alumni, faculty, staff or friends.
Student activities for Homecoming, organized by QuadWorks, will run from Feb. 5-11 while alumni events are centered around the weekend, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11. Highlight of the week-long activities will center around the women's and men's basketball games at the University Center on Friday, Feb. 10. Both teams will entertain Stetson University, with the women tipping off at 4:30 p.m. and the men's televised game getting under way at 7:30 p.m.
Day-by-day student activities include:
Feb 5, banner competition at 3 p.m. and intramural competition at 7 p.m.;
Feb. 6, dancing heads from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m., and a hypnotist from 7-9 p.m.;
Feb. 7, skit competition at 8 p.m.;
Feb. 8, airbrush tattoos from 11 a.m.- 2 p.m. and music trivia at 7:30 p.m.;
Feb. 9, battle of the bands, 7 p.m. - 12...
MACON, Ga.- A cold-shooting second half by Mercer combined with hot shooting by East Tennessee State created a deficit that the Mercer men's basketball team couldn't overcome as it dropped a 104-81 decision to East Tennessee State in Atlantic Sun Conference play Saturday afternoon in the University Center.
Mercer (3-12, 2-7 A-Sun) trailing by 10 at intermission, saw the Bucs score the first six points out of the break to open a 16-point cushion. After the Bears cut the deficit to seven with more than 15 minutes left in the contest, ETSU went on an 18-6 run that pushed the lead to 20 points midway through the second half, and Mercer could get no closer over the final nine minutes.
The Bears jumped out on top early as guards Andrew Brown and Jacob Skogen combined to give Mercer a brief 7-4 lead in the contest, but East Tennessee (10-7, 7-3 A-Sun) penetrated inside and hit outside shots as the Buccaneers scored 16 of their first 23 points in the paint, led...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - In its first meeting against Atlantic Sun newcomer North Florida, the Mercer women's basketball team couldn't hit its stride offensively in the second half and fell to the Lady Ospreys, 66-61.
North Florida (6-10, 4-4 A-Sun) opened the first half quickly with a 7-2 run with Jackie Beik hitting a trey and lay-up for the Lady Ospreys. Mercer struggled to find its offensive groove early in the opening frame, and trailed by as many as nine twice.
The Bears (8-7, 5-3 A-Sun) picked up their defensive intensity, which lead to its offense firing on all pistons. After Megan delaRosa's 3-pointer tied the game at 24, Mercer scored four of the final six points in the first half to take a 28-26 lead at the break.
The Lady Ospreys opened the second half with a 9-2 run, taking a 35-30 lead they would never surrender. UNF eventually pushed its lead to 11 with five minutes remaining, but Mercer rallied.
TaShera Lewis helped...
MACON, Ga.- Kennesaw State's Brent Ragsdale led all scorers with 23 points as the Owls handed Mercer its first home loss of the season, 63-57, in Atlantic Sun men's basketball action Thursday night in the University Center. Mercer (3-11, 2-6 A-Sun) turned in its best defensive effort since the Bears' win over Savannah State Dec. 1, holding league-leader KSU to 63 points, but came up just short against the Owls. The Bears won the battle of the boards, out-rebounding Kennesaw State, 41-30, but committed 23 turnovers en route to dropping their fourth straight game.
"We played hard, but sometimes we didn't play smart," said Mercer head coach Mark Slonaker. "Kennesaw State got outstanding point guard play, and there were some tough matchups out there."
Neither team led by more than three points in the first five minutes of the contest, as the lead changed hands three times before Kennesaw State edged out to a 17-11 lead with just under 12...
