Mercer Men’s Basketball Returns to Action Monday

MACON, Ga. (MERCER RELEASE) – The Mercer men’s basketball team returns from an eight-day hiatus on Monday, hosting Alcorn State at Hawkins Arena. Game time between the Bears and Braves is slated for 7 p.m.

Mercer (6-4) most recently topped Denver 64-63 in overtime on Dec. 7 and has not returned to the hardwood since that win on account of fall semester finals. The contest is the first of three final non-conference games leading up to the Bears’ A-Sun opener at Jacksonville on Dec. 30.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Alcorn State is 3-6 overall and currently on a five-game losing streak entering Monday’s play. The Braves are 0-5 on the road this season, with their last road win coming at Prairie View on Feb. 28, 2013.

The Pioneers return three starters from last year’s team that went 10-24 (8-10 SWAC). The Braves were picked to finish eighth of 10 SWAC teams in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches. Guard LeAntwan Luckett was named to the All-SWAC preseason second team.

Luckett averages a team leading 13.3 points per game while teammate Octavius Brown chips in 11.0 points per outing. Luckett has scored 16 or more in each of the last three games, including back-to-back 17-point efforts.

Alcorn State head coach Luther Riley is in his third year with the team and holds a 23-52 overall record. Prior to signing on at Alcorn State, Riley was head coach at John W. Provine High School.

FAST FACTS

Mercer announced a one-year extension to Bob Hoffman’s contract on Friday. The one-year add-on keeps him in Orange and Black through the 2017-18 season.

Mercer has 57 wins since the start of the 2011-12 season, which is tied for 31st among NCAA D-I teams over that span. The Bears are also one of 36 NCAA teams to win at least 24 games in each of the last two seasons.

If Mercer can top Alcorn State, it will secure the team’s third-straight season with a winning non-conference regular season record. The Bears were 7-6 in ’12-13 and 8-5 in ’11-12. The last time the team had three-straight years of non-conference winning regular seasons was from 1983-86.

Mercer is 3-0 in overtime games this year, with wins over Seton Hall, Valparaiso and Denver. The Bears have won four-straight overtime games and are 9-1 in their last 10 overtime games.

Daniel Coursey needs three more blocks to move into the top-10 of Atlantic Sun career leaders in the stat. He’ll tie former Mercer great Calvin Henry at 10th on the list (154).