Mercer Men’s Basketball heads to Asheville for the SOCON Tournament

The Bears defeat The Citadel Bulldogs 84-76 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Mercer Men’s basketball team has a storied tradition.  While the women’s team is used to winning, the men are trying to make their way back to their winning ways.

In 2021 the Bears lost in the SOCON Conference Championship game after an 18 win season, while the last two seasons have seen a second round exit to Furman University.

This 2023-24 Bears squad had a regular season record of 15-16  with only a few returning seniors, and entered this years SOCON tournament clicking at the right time, winning four of the last five games, including a victory over their first opponent in the conference tournament, the Citadel Bulldogs.

Mercer Head Coach Greg Gary is in his fifth season with a combined record of 80-78.  He looks to make it back to the championship, and this time, win.

“As a team, I think right now, we are peaking at the right time” said Coach Gary. “That’s the preseason, conference, then building up to the conference championship tournament. We’re going to have to take care of business first with Citadel.  ‘Is it an ideal situation?’  No, but hey, we got to get the first one, I know that.  Our guys are in a good frame of mind and they’ve been playing well for the last month or so.”

The Bears and Bulldogs went one and one against each other in the regular season.

Mercer Senior Forward Jalyn McCreary spoke on what he thinks it will take to get the win. “Consistency and not letting up, being very disciplined on defense that can lead to the offense so we got to worry about the defense first, then the offense going to take care of itself through the defense” said McCreary.

Bears Freshman David Thomas has became adjusted to the team at just the right time. Now he knows what he has to do to help his team advance in the SOCON Tournament. “Go out there and compete because I feel like we have a chance to beat each team because we’ve beaten the best teams in the conference said Thomas.  “So just go out there and compete and don’t just lay down just because they are the number one seed or the number two seed. I feel like we have a good chance to win. That’s my expectations.”

Mercer defeated The Citadel 84-76 to advance to the Semifinals where they will play at noon on Saturday.