Atlantic Sun Basketball

Like the old saying goes, “Trick me once, shame on you. But trick me twice, shame on me.”  Twice in the same week the Mercer men couldn’t seem to figure out their pesky in-state A-Sun rivals, the Kennesaw State Owls.

After falling to the hottest team in the conference 71-69 on a last second shot that clanked off the rim, all bets were on the Bears to return the favor when they traveled 100 miles up I-75 to the Convocation Center.

Ultimately, Mercer would fall just short, 66-63, in a well-fought game by both teams.  In front of a nearly sold out arena of 2,378 fans, the crowd was relentless and boisterous all night long in an almost neutral fashion. 

Nearly one-third of the crowd sported Mercer orange and black, but just as the crowd outnumbered the Bear’s fan base, a quick start by Mercer was overcome by a long, lanky, and athletic KSU bunch.

For the opening eight minutes of the game, Mercer jumped out to a 17-6 lead that largely silenced the crowd stemming from baskets near the goal and a pair of three pointers from E.J. Kusnyer and Jeff Smith. Then, Kennesaw clawed its way back into the game by controlling the boards on both ends of the court. 

The Owls would out-rebound the Bears by a final margin of 44 to 35, with 25 of the 44 rebounds coming on offense. Simply put, one shot possessions weren’t enough for Mercer on offensive.

“We can’t win games when we give up 25 offensive rebounds,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman after Thursday night’s game. “And we couldn’t get to the free throw line, but we still had opportunities to win the game,” he added. 

Despite boasting the nation’s No. 2 rebounder in Daniel Emerson, the big man could only do so much in grabbing 14 of his team’s 35 rebounds on the night. Emerson would finish with another double-double with 16 points, including a perfect eight-for-eight night from the free throw line.

The game also saw Mercer guard James Florence break out of a scoring slump as he finished the game with a team-high 19 points. Florence’s 42 game streak of double-digit point totals was snapped the weekend before, and his offensive troubles had started nearly two weeks prior to his nine point game against Florida Gulf Coast. 

Additional bright spots on offense were Jeff Smith’s 10 points and E.J. Kusnyer’s three three-point field goals throughout the night.

For the Owls, only one player, Spencer Dixon, would finish in double-digits, as he turned in a 16 point effort. Kennesaw’s team effort was aided by Zadrian Gibson, Kurtis Woods, Jon-Michael Nickerson, and LaDaris McConnell, as they accounted for 34 points. 

Despite the low score, the Owl’s win was a testament to their bench, as they outscored the Bears 24-6.

With the loss, Mercer falls below the .500 mark, but maintains a 7-6 record in the Atlantic Sun standings. Future home dates against North Florida and Jacksonville will prove to be important games for Mercer as their road schedule includes Campbell, ETSU, Belmont, and Lipscomb in the month of February.

It was the type of road trip a coach or player would like to forget.  Near the top of the Atlantic Sun conference standings going into this weekend’s road trip against Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer looked nearly unbeatable.  They had defeated Jacksonville, Campbell, and East Tennessee State in January and were playing confident basketball until the Hatters and Eagles pulled upsets.

In the Friday night match-up against Stetson, the Bears trailed for the entirety of the nationally televised game, losing 76-69.  Stetson’s 5-0 run to start the first half was the spark the DeLand-based team needed to get by the sluggish Bears.  The Hatter’s (5-12, 3-6) win snapped Mercer’s five game winning streak.

“We had plenty of opportunities to get back in it,” commented Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman after Friday’s game.  “Got to give them credit, they got after us.”

Early fouls called on guard E.J. Kusnyer plagued the Bears as Hoffman benched Kusnyer after on 39 seconds of play to start the game.  The move proved costly for Mercer, as they would go on to shoot 18.5 percent from the perimeter (5-for-27) for the game.  Free-throw shooting, also a strong point of Mercer’s game, was less than accurate as the Bears made 14 of their 25 free throws from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, Stetson kept pace ahead of the Bears extending their leads to as much as 14 points with consistent offensive games from A.J. Smith (22 points), Mark Lohuis (15 points), and Ridge Graham (15 points, nine rebounds).  Mercer’s James Florence would continue his long streak of double-digit scoring with 25 points on the night, as Daniel Emerson would chip in 18 points and nine rebounds.

Looking for a crucial victory to stay in the thick of the race at the top of the A-Sun, the Bears again dropped an important game in Fort Meyers, falling to the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (6-13, 3-6) with a final score of 71-70.  Late game heroics from FGCU’s Anthony Banks sealed the deal for the Eagles after a gutsy three-pointer was made by Kusnyer. 

Statistically speaking, the game was a deadlock.  Neither team capitalized the opportunities at the free throw line, shooting 12-for-20, respectively.  The Bears held an early lead for most of the first half before FGCU fought back to reclaim the advantage with 48 seconds left.  For most of the first ten minutes of the second half, both teams exchanged baskets to neutralize each other’s leads, but it was the home team that really started rolling when they an 11 point lead with 12:21 left on a Kyle Marks jumper.

Late in the game, Mercer worked the Eagles’ lead down until Kusnyer’s big jumper, however FGCU had just enough time left on the clock to for an extensive offensive possession.  Ultimately, the Bears fell short by only a point, but the two losses on the weekend capped a disappointing run for Mercer after such a promising month in early January. 

FGCU’s Kyle Marks would finish as the team’s leading scorer with 14 points, followed by Derrick O’Neil’s 13 points and Anthony Banks’ 12 points.  Daniel Emerson would notch another double-double with 19 points and 14 rebounds for Mercer.  All five starters for the Bears would finish in double-digits. 

After the game, Hoffman said on MercerBears.com, “We let one get away from us that we could have had.  They played better than us for the majority of the game.” 

Senior James Florence added, “You can’t afford to not perform when your being counted on…that’s always going to equal a loss.  We’ve got to pick to up.”

A midweek tussle with Kennesaw State will be the first opportunity for the Bears to redeem themselves before they match up again with Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast in the friendly confines of the University Center on January 30 and February 1.

It's amazing how a rivalry between two small schools can remind you of the good things about college basketball.

Last night, I attended my very first "Battle of the Boulevard" at Lipscomb University. It was the 125th meeting between Lipscomb and Belmont University. The game itself was forgettable, but the experience will stick with me for a long time.

Lipscomb won 64-53 in one of the worst combined shooting performances I have ever seen. The teams combined to shoot 6-for-48 from behind the arc. That's a staggering 13 percent. In all, the teams shot roughly 35 percent from the field.

Miss after miss.

So why in the world am I glad that I went?

I remembered that college basketball isn't always about ESPN, CBS, the NCAA Tournament, and Bracketology. Out of the 300+ schools in Division I basketball, only 65 will be playing in the Big Dance.

Sometimes I get so caught up in power conferences I forget about the joy of watching basketball just for the fun of it.

Students and older fans alike were living and dying with each shot. The building was ready to explode on each Lipscomb attempt. People were so excited to be there.

Here's an example of what I mean.

A father and son sat in front of us last night. They both had Lipscomb gear on. It didn't matter they were cheering for a mediocre 7-7 club. What mattered was that the two of them were bonding over their love of basketball. It didn't matter that the game had no real post-season implications.

Those are the kind of moments that kid will remember the rest of his life.

I remember my mom taking me to see NAIA games as a young child. I probably had more fun watching Berea College take on Campbellsville in 1994 than I do watching games now.

I remember how excited I would get when we walked into that small packed gym. It was about the experience, not who was playing. It doesn't matter that I can't name a single player from any Berea College team. I remember laughing and cheering with my mom.

I got that same feeling last night at Lipscomb.

The point is: the national media wants to dictate to us what games should be important. We get so caught up in rankings and RPI that I'm afraid we miss out on the neat experiences that smaller colleges and universities can provide.

Sure, I'm going to watch the Florida-Kentucky game tonight. I'm still going to follow Vanderbilt as religiously as ever.

But I can promise you that I'll be at Belmont when the Battle of the Boulevard is held there later this season.

When you think about sports in Nashville, most people think about teams in the following order:

Tennessee Titans
Nashville Predators
Vanderbilt Commodores
Nashville Sounds

Tonight I am going to go against that trend. For the first time, I will attend one of the most seemingly underrated events in Nashville, The Battle of the Boulevard.

This will mark the 125th meeting between Belmont University and Lipscomb University in men's basketball. The series is special for a number of reason. Let me share a few that I found on Lipscomb's page dedicated to the series.

The rivalry is the closest geographically in the country. The schools are separated by only two miles. Here is a full list of comparable opponents:

Besides the short distance separating the teams, the games between the pair have been historically close. Here is a list of the most overtime games played since the 2003-2004 season:

I have always heard great things about the series. This year, I also plan to attend the game when the two play at Belmont. I want to absorb the atmosphere and see what all the fuss is about.

Tonight's game promises to be a great games, with both squads tied atop the Atlantic Sun standings with 4-1 conference records.

Belmont is 9-6 on the season, with notable losses to Washington and Kansas. They don't have any signature wins, but have knocked off in-state foes Middle Tennessee and Tennessee State. The Bruins have a balanced attack with four players averaging double figures. Ian Clark leads the way with 13.9 per contest. Last week, Clark scored 31 against Stetson. He has shown that he has the ability to score 20+ on any given night.

Lipscomb is only 7-7, but seems to be playing at a higher level than Belmont at the moment. The Bisons have won five of their last seven. The two losses were to Cincinnati and Arizona. The real heart breaker was against Arizona. The Wildcats hit a last-second three to edge Lipscomb 83-82 in OT.

With tonight's game being held at Lipscomb, I expect the Bruins to come up a bit short. Either way, it should be a lot a fun. I'll have a recap of the game and festivities tonight. (Follow Dore Posts on Twitter. Click here)

Thursday night provided a much needed break from conference play for the Mercer Bears, after dropping two tight contests to Belmont and Lipscomb at home. Taking on the Division II Piedmont Lions, guard E.J. Kusnyer scored a career high 26 points to lead Mercer (4-5, 0-2 ASun) past the outmatched Lions (3-3-) 87-62. 

Breaking a four game losing streak, Mercer took the court with a vengeance and some hot shooting 53.1 percent from the floor at the half in route to a 42-21 lead. Kusnyer especially appeared to be in midseason form, hitting five shots from the perimeter in the first half to spark a 16-0 run on Piedmont. 

Although the scoreboard was lopsided at the intermission, Piedmont’s second half effort saw a two-fold increase in offensive production, as Mercer only maintained their 20-point lead for the remainder of the game.

Also shooting above 50 percent for the second half, the Lions were lead by post J.C. Herbia’s 15 points and eight rebounds, while teammates Michael Rubio and Tyler Arnold chipped in 12 and 11 points respectively.

On the other side of the court, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman was able to employ the services of his entire bench, as eight players amassed double digit minutes and as thirteen players saw playing time. 

While Mercer’s Kusnyer had the hot hand on the night, first team All-Atlantic Sun selection James Florence seemed to have a streaky night shooting, hitting only four of his 12 shots to finish with 14 points. Forward Daniel Emerson also scored 14 points with 10 rebounds while junior Brian Mills tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

“We played great defense in the first half and were talking to each other and had a lot of activity on that end of the court,” said Hoffman after the game. “I was disappointed in the second half though as Piedmont came out with a renewed energy. We didn’t respond well,” he added on MercerBears.com.

On his twitter account, Florence commented, “Good team win tonight but we still have a lot to figure out.  Haven’t won a close game yet this season.”  Mercer will have a chance at getting that ‘big’ win as they did a year ago over Alabama and Auburn as they take on Vanderbilt in Nashville on December 21st. 

The next five games for the Bears, all on the road, could shape the rest of their season as they travel to Alabama, UNC-Charlotte, Jacksonville, and North Florida after the Vanderbilt contest.

The Campbell Camels, led by head coach Robbie Laing in his seventh season at the Buies Creek, NC school, are off to a 5-1 start—their best in 22 years. 

Campbell (5-1) owes most, if not all of its recent success to Laing.

After taking over a program in 2003 that had won just 20 total games in its last three seasons, Laing set out to do work.  And do work, he has.

However, Rome wasn't built in a day, and the Campbell Camels certainly wouldn't be either.

Amidst a head coaching change and graduation of what little depth the Camels did have, the first-time college head coach was in for a tough first chapter in his new home.

Suffering back-to-back losing records in 2003 and 2004, in which the Camels won three and two games respectively, it was no surprise that some Camels supporters were already beginning to call for the coach's head.

But as the critics started gathering, things began to slowly make a noticeable turnaround in Buies Creek.

In what looks like a stepladder pattern on a bar graph, Laing's Camels won 10 games in 2005 and 14 in the following year.

A short slump occurred in 2007, as Laing saw his Camels fall off rhythm en route to a 10-win season.

However, he proved again last season that he wasn't going down without a fight.

His Fighting Camels fought their way to a 14-16 record last season, and that team's momentum has carried over to the team this season. 

Oh, did I mention earlier that the aforementioned Campbell team from 22 years ago posted a 23-10 record that season?

Perhaps it's just coincidence.

But with the only loss so far coming late at home to the ACC's Virginia Tech, watch for Laing to finally get the breakthrough he's been looking for in a season where the Camels keep on struttin'. They will likely challenge the favorites for this year's Atlantic Sun title and could very well secure a spot in the school's second NCAA Tournament.

So if you're in the Buies Creek, NC area this winter, throw on an orange T-shirt and head over to the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center to catch a game.

Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

The Camels are next in action on Thursday, Dec. 10 at Western Carolina.  Tip-off is set for 7:00 PM EST.

At one point, the scoreboard was just downright ugly in the last conference game for the Mercer Bears in 2009.  Mercer found themselves trailing by 18 points in the first half to one of their biggest rivals in front of a large Saturday afternoon home crowd in the University Center.

For whatever reason, the Bears couldn’t seem to buy a shot in the first few minutes of the game.  “We did not play well early on,” said Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman on MercerBears.com, adding, “Belmont did a very good job of coming out and attacking us in the first half.” 

After dropping a tough contest to Lipscomb in the Thursday night match-up, Mercer (3-5, 0-2 A-Sun) aimed to take out their frustrations on Belmont (6-2, 2-0 A-Sun), but was instead met with a hot-shooting Belmont team that shot 50% in the first half and 47% from the floor for the game in route to a 94-90 win.  Trailing 46-31 at the half, most of the 2,314 fans seemed to be more preoccupied with getting an SEC Football Championship score rather than the product on the floor.

James Florence and company showed up to play in the second half though, going on a 23-13 run to get back into the ballgame.  With only 2:34 left, Mercer stole the lead away from the Bruins on a Jeff Smith layup before Belmont went back up on a few key shots.  Trailing by three with only seconds remaining, three point master E.J. Kusnyer drained a long shot from the right side of the perimeter to tie the game and force overtime.

Mercer took an initial lead in the five-minute overtime period, but Belmont was ultimately the stronger team, winning by four with a final score of 94-90.  James Florence was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points to solidify his standing as the top scorer in the conference. Teammates Daniel Emerson (14 points, 14 rebounds), Brian Mills (14 points, 6 rebounds), Brandon Moore (13 points), and E.J. Kusnyer (12 points) also saw double-digit scoring totals on the afternoon, but it was the balance effort from Belmont’s distance shooter that proved to be too much. 

Ian Clark led the Bruins with 22 points while Mick Hedgepeth (20 points), Keaton Blecher (14 points), and Kerron Johnson (13 points) also made big contributions.

Now, Mercer takes on Piedmont College at home before five consecutive away games, highlighted by match-ups with Vanderbilt, Alabama, UNC Charlotte, and Jacksonville.

This is the fourth installment of the Players to Watch series, featuring the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Ben Smith - Jacksonville

Senior Ben Smith is the clear leader of this Jacksonville team. He led the team in scoring and assists last season as a junior, and is doing the same thing so far as a senior.  Smith has been playing 30 or more minutes per game since he was a freshman and has only been getting better.

He is the leader of the Dolphins, and his numbers certainly show why.  Jacksonville has only played three games so far, but Smith has been stellar.  He had a down game against California, scoring nine points, but the team only scored 47 total.  However, against South Carolina, Smith exploded for 31 points, seven assists, and four steals.

Look for this kind of dominance to continue this season from Smith as Jacksonville will try to lead the Atlantic Sun again.

Tommy Hubbard - East Tennessee State

Hubbard is only a junior but he and fellow junior Justin Tubbs are clearly the leaders of this East Tennessee team.  Hubbard did not play as much last season because of stand-out players Kevin Tiggs and Courtney Pigram, but he is seeing much more action this season and making the most of it.

Hubbard has already had four double-doubles this season, and dropped 26 points and 13 rebounds on Chattanooga in a tight loss.  However, he outdid himself a few games later against Arkansas, a much tougher opponent, where he scored 32 points and added 10 rebounds in a win.

East Tennessee State should improve throughout the season behind the strong play of juniors Justin Tubbs and Tommy Hubbard.

Adnan Hodzic - Lipscomb

If Lipscomb wants to do anything this year, it will be behind the play of junior Adnan Hodzic.  Hodzic was outstanding last season, and is continuing his dominance this season.  Through five games, he has scored 18 or more points in each game while playing formidable opponents such as Ohio State and Vanderbilt.

Hodzic has two double-doubles already this season, and a 26-point performance against Elon.  Look for the Bison to be strong again this season in conference play, where Hodzic should really start to take control of the team.

James Florence - Mercer

Florence, a senior at Mercer, can easily be argued as the best player in the Atlantic Sun Conference, and he is really starting to make a name for himself against big-time programs. 

He is averaging 22 points per game this season, and had a 33-point game against Bucknell. More notably, Florence dropped 40 points on Georgia Tech.

Florence is the returning lead scorer of the Atlantic Sun, and with one more year under his belt, should improve upon that.  Be sure to check out his stat-line after every game, as Florence is becoming the Stephen Curry of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

(Photo of James Florence by Rick Schmitt)

When you annually sneak up on big-time teams and upset them, the surprise factor starts to wear away. Such was the case when the upset-prone Mercer Bears took on ACC power Florida State on Saturday, and the Seminoles cruised to an easy 89-50 victory. 

The game wasn’t a testament to how strong a team Mercer actually is in the Atlantic Sun, but rather a statement of how tall and good this Florida State team really is. 

The Bears (3-2), started the season with a 2-1 road trip in Rhode Island, narrowly losing to Providence before an early home tune-up against Fisk University. 

The Seminoles, however, might just have been the best team to pass through Macon, Ga., in the last decade. Florida State (3-0) now holds a perfect record against Atlantic Sun opponents in 2009, defeating Stetson, Jacksonville, and Mercer within the past week.

Mercer’s homecoming started promisingly with a James Florence three-pointer to start the game, but FSU’s defense quickly clamped down on the perimeter shooting and went to work inside offensively. 

The Bears held the lead twice early on, but the Seminoles quickly built a 40-18 lead at the half to leave the sold-out University Center crowd stunned. Statistics told the story well. Mercer was held to 13.5 percent (5-for-37) from the floor in the first 20 minutes of play while Florida State hit 58.3 percent (14-for-24). 

The Seminoles would amass 13 blocks, including five from 7’1” center Solomon Alabi, to set a new University Center record. 

After the game, Mercer head coach Bob Hoffman told MercerBears.com, “We didn’t execute well, and they had a lot to do with that. FSU is a very talented team. Coach Hamilton has done a good job in putting the pieces together.”

A lopsided first half gave way to an even more lopsided second, as the Seminoles would shoot an astounding 60 percent from the floor in the final stanza. For the afternoon, five players would finish in double figures for the visiting ACC team, led by Deividas Dulkys’ 14 points. 

Jordan DeMercy, Xavier Gibson, and Solomon Alabi would all finish with 12 points, while teammate Derwin Kitchen would throw in 10 more. 

Mercer guard James Florence would lead the Bears in scoring with only 14 points in 30 minutes. The Bears’ starting five would only manage to score 28 of the 50 points on the scoreboard.

For most in the sold-out crowd of 3,200-plus, the lopsided game was a bit of a disappointment, particularly after upsets of Auburn and Alabama a year ago and a narrow overtime loss to Georgia Tech in last year’s homecoming game. 

But with lower expectations against major opponents they will face this season, Mercer still has a chance to upset several large schools with upcoming contests against Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, and Alabama.

It was a blowout from the beginning. The Bears (3-1) took the tipoff to start the game and then proceeded to mount a 16-2 lead before the five-minute mark over the Nashville-based NAIA Fisk University.

Fisk (0-6) seemed to be hopelessly outmatched against Mercer’s starters and top scorers, as the Bears would shoot close to 60 percent from the field in the first half.

While the game was more of a tune-up for the Bears' matchup against the ACC’s Florida State Seminoles coming into town three days later, Mercer played everyone on the bench and saw quality minutes from their starters in the 110-45 win.

The game set three University Center records on Wednesday night: the most points scored by a team (toppling the 2005 mark of a 105-101 win over Troy), the biggest margin of victory (the previous largest margin was 32 points against Savannah State in 2005), and equaled the most rebounds in UC history with 58.

After the game, head coach Bob Hoffman said on MercerBears.com, “It was great to get to play a lot of people tonight. The level of play was good, and I played some guys out of position. They competed no matter where they were playing.”

For the Bears fans that saw a tight exhibition game against Division II GSCU, the blowout win was a sigh of relief. It was also an opportunity to see many of the new faces on the floor this season for the Bears. While E.J. Kusnyer and Daniel Emerson would finish with 14 points each, guards Ridas Pulkauninkas and James Florence dropped 13 points in limited action.

Clearing the benches throughout the game, the 2,000-plus fans in the UC saw hometown product David O’Shaughnessey score his first five points at Mercer, as well as fellow freshmen and transfers Chris Smith, Jake Gollon, Michael Jenkins, Brandon Moore and Tevin Swann see plenty of the hardwood in the second half. All 15 players for Mercer ended up scoring on the night.

For Fisk, Michael Brodnax would net 12 points while teammate Bradley Grayson would add in 10. With only two players finishing in double figures on the night, the Bulldogs would end up shooting only 29.7 percent from the floor.

Now, the Bears turn their sights to the CSS-TV matchup against Florida State, a team that has already beaten A-Sun opponents Jacksonville and Stetson by considerable margins in Tallahassee early this season.

Photo Courtesy of Alex Lockwood Photography