2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by eighth year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus and were second year members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. They defeated The Citadel in the first round of the SoCon tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to East Tennessee State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Coastal Carolina.

2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Challenge in Music City Champions
CIT, First round
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record19–15 (8–10 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Doug Esleeck
  • Jarred Merrill
  • Jason Eaker
Home arenaHawkins Arena
2015–16 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Chattanooga153 .833296  .829
East Tennessee State144 .7782412  .667
Furman117 .6111916  .543
Wofford117 .6111517  .469
Western Carolina108 .5561618  .471
UNC Greensboro108 .5561519  .441
Mercer810 .4441915  .559
Samford414 .2221419  .424
VMI414 .222921  .300
The Citadel315 .1671022  .313
2016 SoCon Tournament winner

Murder of Jibri Bryan

Jibri Bryan, a sixth-year senior, was shot and killed on February 2, 2016. He was found with a gunshot wound to the head in the driver's seat of a Chevy Monte Carlo parked in a convenience store in Macon, Georgia. Bryan played in six games in the 2015–16 season due to a knee injury, averaging 7.8 points per game. Jarvis Clinton Miller has been charged in the murder of Bryan after attempting to flee from the crime scene. In a statement, Mercer coach Bob Hoffman said, "Jibri Bryan was a special young man who was a great contributor to our team and did everything that was asked of him.[1]

Roster

2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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) Sr Tulsa, Oklahoma
G 2 Jaylen Stowe 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Harrisburg, North Carolina
G 3 Tyre Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) So Charleston, South Carolina
F 5 Jestin Lewis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) Sr Richmond, Virginia
G 11 Jordan Strawberry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) So Santa Ana, California
F 15 Stephon Jelks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)225 lb (102 kg) So Marietta, Georgia
F 20 Cory Kilby 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)195 lb (88 kg) Fr Ada, Oklahoma
G 22 Ethan Stair 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) Fr Hazel Green, Alabama
F 23 Demetre Rivers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)180 lb (82 kg) So Goose Creek, South Carolina
G 25 Lawrence Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) Jr Kansas City, Missouri
F 32 James Bento 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) Jr Houston, Texas
G 34 Jibri Bryan 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) Sr Savannah, Georgia
F 52 Niklas Ney 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)260 lb (118 kg) So 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

[2]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
11/13/2015*
7:00 pm
Allen W 96–70  1–0
Hawkins Arena (3,201)
Macon, GA
11/16/2015*
7:00 pm
George Mason W 69–60  2–0
Hawkins Arena (2,427)
Macon, GA
11/19/2015*
7:00 pm
Alabama State W 70–49  3–0
Hawkins Arena (3,437)
Macon, GA
11/23/2015*
7:00 pm
at Davidson L 71–77  3–1
John M. Belk Arena (3,861)
Davidson, NC
11/26/2015*
8:00 pm, ASN
vs. Tulane
Challenge in Music City
W 71–61  4–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium (350)
Nashville, TN
11/27/2015*
6:00 pm
vs. Appalachian State
Challenge in Music City
W 71–70  5–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium 
Nashville, TN
11/29/2015*
7:00 pm, ASN
vs. Western Michigan
Challenge in Music City
W 68–65  6–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium 
Nashville, TN
12/02/2015*
7:00 pm
Hiwassee
Challenge in Music City
W 82–47  7–1
Hawkins Arena (2,172)
Macon, GA
12/05/2015*
4:30 pm
Alcorn State W 68–43  8–1
Hawkins Arena (2,963)
Macon, GA
12/15/2015*
9:00 pm, SECN
at Auburn L 71–78  8–2
Auburn Arena (8,033)
Auburn, AL
12/19/2015*
8:00 pm
vs. Arkansas
North Little Rock Showcase
W 69–66 OT 9–2
Verizon Arena (9,120)
North Little Rock, AR
12/22/2015*
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Ohio State L 44–64  9–3
Value City Arena (11,460)
Columbus
12/30/2015*
2:00 pm
at Kennesaw State W 76–73  10–3
KSU Convocation Center (1,903)
Kennesaw, GA
01/02/2016
4:30 pm, ESPN3
Samford W 69–50  11–3
(1–0)
Hawkins Arena (3,715)
Macon, GA
01/05/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Chattanooga L 62–74  11–4
(1–1)
McKenzie Arena (3,361)
Chattanooga, TN
01/09/2016
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at The Citadel W 91–80  12–4
(2–1)
McAlister Field House 
Charleston, SC
01/14/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Furman W 69–65  13–4
(3–1)
Hawkins Arena (3,672)
Macon, GA
01/16/2016
4:30 pm, ESPN3
Wofford W 70–69 OT 14–4
(4–1)
Hawkins Arena (4,502)
Macon, GA
01/21/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at East Tennessee State L 63–65 OT 14–5
(4–2)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,003)
Johnson City, TN
01/24/2016
1:00 pm
at Western Carolina
Postponed from 1/23/16
L 80–86 2OT 14–6
(4–3)
Ramsey Center (1,112)
Cullowhee, NC
01/28/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
VMI W 73–58  15–6
(5–3)
Hawkins Arena (2,693)
Macon, GA
01/30/2016
4:30 pm, ESPN3
UNC Greensboro W 81–67  16–6
(6–3)
Hawkins Arena (4,032)
Macon, GA
02/01/2016
8:00 pm
at Samford W 85–70  17–6
(7–3)
Pete Hanna Center (1,263)
Homewood, AL
02/06/2016
4:30 pm, ESPN3
The Citadel W 88–72  18–6
(8–3)
Hawkins Arena (4,772)
Macon, GA
02/08/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Chattanooga L 66–72 OT 18–7
(8–4)
Hawkins Arena (3,721)
Macon, GA
02/11/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Wofford L 70–79  18–8
(8–5)
Benjamin Johnson Arena (2,023)
Spartanburg, SC
02/13/2016
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Furman L 74–85  18–9
(8–6)
Timmons Arena (2,368)
Greenville, SC
02/18/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Carolina L 65–72  18–10
(8–7)
Hawkins Arena (3,627)
Macon, GA
02/20/2016
4:30 pm, ESPN3
East Tennessee State L 74–77  18–11
(8–8)
Hawkins Arena (3,874)
Macon, GA
02/25/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at VMI L 82–91  18–12
(8–9)
Cameron Hall (1,194)
Lexington, VA
02/28/2016
1:00 pm, ESPN3
at UNC Greensboro L 65–69  18–13
(8–10)
Greensboro Coliseum (3,156)
Greensboro, NC
SoCon tournament
03/04/2016
7:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. The Citadel
First round
W 71–69  19–13
U.S. Cellular Center (2,411)
Asheville, NC
03/05/2016
6:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. East Tennessee State
Quarterfinals
L 65–81  19–14
U.S. Cellular Center 
Asheville, NC
CIT
03/15/2016*
7:00 pm
at Coastal Carolina
First round
L 57–65  19–15
HTC Center (940)
Conway, SC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

    References

    1. "Officials charge man in murder of Mercer's Jibri Bryan; gunman at large". ESPN. February 3, 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
    2. "2015-16 Men's Basketball Schedule - Mercer". Mercerbears.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
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