2014–15 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by seventh year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus and were first year members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 19–16, 12–6 in SoCon play to finish in third place. They advanced to the semifinals of the SoCon tournament where they lost to Furman. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Stony Brook in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to Louisiana–Monroe.

2014–15 Mercer Bears men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record19–16 (12–6 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Spencer Wright
  • Doug Esleeck
  • Jake Nelp
Home arenaHawkins Arena
Seasons
2014–15 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Wofford 16 2   .889 28 7   .800
Chattanooga 15 3   .833 22 10   .688
Mercer 12 6   .667 19 16   .543
Western Carolina 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
East Tennessee State 8 10   .444 16 14   .533
VMI 7 11   .389 11 19   .367
Samford 6 12   .333 13 19   .406
The Citadel 6 12   .333 11 19   .367
UNC Greensboro 6 12   .333 11 22   .333
Furman 5 13   .278 11 22   .333
2015 SoCon Tournament winner

Roster

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2014–15 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Desmond Ringer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) So McDonough, Georgia
G 1 Phillip Leonard 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Tulsa, Oklahoma
G 2 Matt Panaggio 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Daytona Beach, Florida
G 3 Tyre Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Charleston, South Carolina
F 5 Jestin Lewis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Richmond, Virginia
G 10 Ike Nwamu 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Greensboro, North Carolina
G 11 Jordan Strawberry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Santa Ana, California
G 12 John Mosser 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Cary, North Carolina
F 14 T.J. Hallice 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Weddington, North Carolina
F 15 Stephon Jelks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Marietta, Georgia
F 20 Thomas Massey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Snellville, Georgia
F 22 Darious Moten 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Bowdon, Georgia
F 23 Demetre Rivers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Goose Creek, South Carolina
G 25 Lawrence Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Kansas City, Missouri
F 32 James Bento 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Houston, Texas
G 34 Jibri Bryan 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Savannah, Georgia
F 52 Niklas Ney 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Fr Berlin, Germany
C 55 Andrew Fishler 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Jr Cumming, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
11/14/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Piedmont W 88–48  1–0
Hawkins Arena (3,500)
Macon, GA
11/16/2014*
12:00 pm
at Seton Hall L 47–63  1–1
Prudential Center (7,075)
Newark, NJ
11/19/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Kennesaw State W 74–66  2–1
Hawkins Arena (2,647)
Macon, GA
11/23/2014*
6:00 pm
at Colorado State
Great Alaska Shootout
L 62–75  2–2
Moby Arena (2,675)
Fort Collins, CO
11/27/2014*
9:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Rice
Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals
W 77–71 OT 3–2
Alaska Airlines Center (2,366)
Anchorage, AK
11/28/2014*
11:59 pm, CBSSN
vs. UC Santa Barbara
Great Alaska Shootout semifinals
L 60–66 OT 3–3
Alaska Airlines Center (3,224)
Anchorage, AK
11/29/2014*
9:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Pacific
Great Alaska Shootout 3rd place game
L 48–55  3–4
Alaska Airlines Center (3,110)
Anchorage, AK
12/02/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
St. Andrews W 62–33  4–4
Hawkins Arena (1,527)
Macon, GA
12/06/2014
4:00 pm, ESPN3
VMI W 90–81  5–4 (1–0)
Hawkins Arena (2,327)
Macon, GA
12/16/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Dartmouth L 51–67  5–5
Hawkins Arena (2,430)
Macon, GA
12/19/2014*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Bethune-Cookman W 67–46  6–5
Hawkins Arena (2,487)
Macon, GA
12/22/2014*
7:00 pm, SECN
at Tennessee L 54–64  6–6
Thompson–Boling Arena (13,093)
Knoxville, TN
12/27/2014*
7:00 pm, SECN
at Georgia L 77–86 3OT 6–7
Stegeman Coliseum (8,047)
Athens, GA
12/30/2014*
8:00 pm, SECN
at Texas A&M L 50–65  6–8
Reed Arena (7,052)
College Station, TX
01/03/2015
5:00 pm
at UNC Greensboro W 76–55  7–8 (2–0)
Greensboro Coliseum (1,943)
Greensboro, NC
01/05/2015
7:00 pm
at VMI W 85–75  8–8 (3–0)
Cameron Hall (977)
Lexington, VA
01/08/2015
7:00 pm
at East Tennessee State L 70–71  8–9 (3–1)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,621)
Johnson City, TN
01/10/2015
4:00 pm, ESPN3
The Citadel W 74–51  9–9 (4–1)
Hawkins Arena (4,027[a])
Macon, GA
01/15/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Furman W 67–64  10–9 (5–1)
Hawkins Arena (2,718)
Macon, GA
01/17/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Samford W 80–56  11–9 (6–1)
Hawkins Arena (3,672)
Macon, GA
01/22/2015
7:00 pm
at Western Carolina L 52–60  11–10 (6–2)
Ramsey Center (1,839)
Cullowhee, NC
01/29/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Chattanooga W 75–72 OT 12–10 (7–2)
Hawkins Arena (3,585)
Macon, GA
01/31/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Wofford L 46–49  12–11 (7–3)
Benjamin Johnson Arena (3,036)
Spartanburg, SC
02/05/2015
6:00 pm
at The Citadel W 76–53  13–11 (8–3)
McAlister Field House (1,946)
Charleston, SC
02/07/2015
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Furman W 74–68  14–11 (9–3)
Timmons Arena (1,877)
Greenville, SC
02/12/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Carolina L 54–58  14–12 (9–4)
Hawkins Arena (3,501)
Macon, GA
02/14/2015
4:00 pm, ESPN3
UNC Greensboro W 55–50  15–12 (10–4)
Hawkins Arena (3,541)
Macon, GA
02/19/2015
7:00 pm
at Chattanooga L 61–74  15–13 (10–5)
McKenzie Arena (4,043)
Chattanooga, TN
02/21/2015
7:00 pm
at Samford W 62–61  16–13 (11–5)
Pete Hanna Center (1,683)
Homewood, AL
02/26/2015
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Wofford L 72–76  16–14 (11–6)
Hawkins Arena (3,870)
Macon, GA
02/28/2015
4:00 pm, ESPN3
East Tennessee State W 69–64  17–14 (12–6)
Hawkins Arena (3,817)
Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
03/07/2015
8:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. VMI
Quarterfinals
W 89–61  18–14
U.S. Cellular Center (3,544)
Asheville, NC
03/08/2015
8:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Furman
Quarterfinals
L 49–52  18–15
U.S. Cellular Center (5,545)
Asheville, NC
College Basketball Invitational
03/18/2015*
7:00 pm
Stony Brook
First round
W 72–70  19–15
Hawkins Arena (2,432)
Macon, GA
03/23/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Louisiana–Monroe
Quarterfinals
L 69–71  19–16
Hawkins Arena (2,677)
Macon, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.
  1. ^ The attendance of 4,027 at Hawkins Arena set a new record at the facility, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,500 set twice in 2013–14.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule - Mercer". Archived from the original on October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  2. ^ "Record Crowd on Hand as Men's Basketball Downs The Citadel, 74-51". Mercer Bears. January 10, 2015. Archived from the original on January 23, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.