2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by third-year head coach Greg Gary, played their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as a member of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. They defeated Western Carolina in the first round of the SoCon tournament before losing to Furman in the quarterfinals.

2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record16–17 (8–10 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Bobby Kummer
  • Kim Lewis
  • D.J. Byrd
Home arenaHawkins Arena
Seasons
2021–22 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Chattanooga 14 4   .778 27 8   .771
Furman 12 6   .667 22 12   .647
Samford 10 8   .556 21 11   .656
Wofford 10 8   .556 19 13   .594
VMI 9 9   .500 16 16   .500
UNC Greensboro 9 9   .500 17 15   .531
Mercer 8 10   .444 16 17   .485
East Tennessee State 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
The Citadel 6 12   .333 13 17   .433
Western Carolina 5 13   .278 11 21   .344
2022 SoCon Tournament winner

Previous season

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In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bears finished the 2020–21 season 18–11, 8–9 in SoCon play to finish in seventh place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated Samford,[1] Wofford,[2] and VMI to advance to the championship game.[3] There they lost to UNC Greensboro.[4]

Roster

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2021–22 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 1 Kamar Robertson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Alpharetta, Georgia
G 2 Neftali Alvarez 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Jr Cataño, Puerto Rico
C 3 Shannon Grant 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) So Sylacauga, Alabama
G 10 Jordan Jones 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Macon, Georgia
G 11 Jovan Tucker 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Atlanta, Georgia
C 14 Victor Bafutto 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Brasília, Brazil
F 15 John Treanor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Roswell, Georgia
G 20 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Durham, North Carolina
F 22 Felipe Haase 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Sr Osorno, Chile
F 23 James Glisson III 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Decatur, Georgia
G 25 Shawn Walker Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jr Elizabeth City, North Carolina
G 30 Diego Rivera 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Bayamón, Puerto Rico
G 31 Jacksen Greco 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Canton, Georgia
SG 32 Harrison Drake 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Newnan, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: November 25, 2021

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 3, 2021*
7:00 pm
Fort Valley State W 93–61 
Hawkins Arena (1,027)
Macon, GA
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021*
8:00 pm, SECN+
at Arkansas L 61–74  0–1
Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
Fayetteville, AR
November 13, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Winthrop L 85–88 OT 0–2
Winthrop Coliseum (1,778)
Rock Hill, SC
November 16, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Life W 78–50  1–2
Hawkins Arena (1,332)
Macon, GA
November 20, 2021*
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Saint Louis
Cancún Challenge campus game
L 58–75  1–3
Chaifetz Arena (4,725)
St. Louis, MO
November 23, 2021*
3:00 pm, FloHoops
vs. Bucknell
Cancún Challenge Mayan semifinal
W 78–68  2–3
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (133)
Cancún, Mexico
November 24, 2021*
3:00 pm, FloHoops
vs. Middle Tennessee
Cancún Challenge Mayan championship
L 58–82  2–4
Hard Rock Hotel Riviera (103)
Cancún, Mexico
November 27, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Milligan W 88–49  3–4
Hawkins Arena (427)
Macon, GA
December 1, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Kennesaw State W 73–71  4–4
KSU Convocation Center (1,518)
Kennesaw, GA
December 4, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Georgia State W 83–77  5–4
Hawkins Arena (901)
Macon, GA
December 6, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Coastal Carolina W 74–69  6–4
HTC Center (953)
Conway, SC
December 11, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Georgia Southern W 77–68  7–4
Hawkins Arena (2,322)
Macon, GA
December 19, 2021*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Florida Gulf Coast L 55–67  7–5
Alico Arena (1,711)
Fort Myers, FL
December 22, 2021*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Troy L 65–69  7–6
Hawkins Arena (1,256)
Macon, GA
SoCon regular season
January 5, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Samford W 83–80  8–6
(1–0)
Hawkins Arena (1,082)
Macon, GA
January 8, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN+
at Furman L 66–81  8–7
(1–1)
Bon Secours Wellness Arena (3,217)
Greenville, SC
January 13, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
VMI W 97-91  9–7
(2–1)
Hawkins Arena (1,341)
Macon, GA
January 15, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
UNC Greensboro W 58–49  10–7
(3–1)
Hawkins Arena (1,981)
Macon, GA
January 17, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at The Citadel
Rescheduled from Dec. 29
W 71–64  11–7
(4–1)
McAlister Field House (731)
Charleston, SC
January 19, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at East Tennessee State L 64–72  11–8
(4–2)
Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,270)
Johnson City, TN
January 22, 2022
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Western Carolina W 72–64  12–8
(5–2)
Hawkins Arena (2,271)
Macon, GA
January 26, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Samford L 61–75  12–9
(5–3)
Pete Hanna Center (891)
Homewood, AL
January 29, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Furman L 50–80  12–10
(5–4)
Hawkins Arena (3,572)
Macon, GA
January 31, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Wofford W 67–62  13–10
(6–4)
Hawkins Arena (1,792)
Macon, GA
February 5, 2022
12:00 pm, ESPNU
at Chattanooga L 68–77  13–11
(6–5)
McKenzie Arena (3,192)
Chattanooga, TN
February 7, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Chattanooga
Rescheduled from Jan. 1
L 72–74 OT 13–12
(6–6)
Hawkins Arena (1,826)
Macon, GA
February 10, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at VMI L 79–85  13–13
(6–7)
Cameron Hall (1,214)
Lexington, VA
February 13, 2022
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at UNC Greensboro W 73–64  14–13
(7–7)
Greensboro Coliseum (1,509)
Greensboro, NC
February 16, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
East Tennessee State W 65–56  15–13
(8–7)
Hawkins Arena (2,649)
Macon, GA
February 19, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
at Western Carolina L 65–69  15–14
(8–8)
Ramsey Center (1,721)
Cullowhee, NC
February 23, 2022
2:00 pm, ESPN+
The Citadel L 67–71  15–15
(8–9)
Hawkins Arena (2,221)
Macon, GA
February 26, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Wofford L 67–74  15–16
(8–10)
Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,551)
Spartanburg, SC
SoCon tournament
March 4, 2022
7:30 pm, ESPN+
(7) vs. (10) Western Carolina
First Round
W 81–53  16–16
Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,113)
Asheville, NC
March 5, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+/Nexstar
(7) vs. (2) Furman
Quarterfinals
L 66–80  16–17
Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,032)
Asheville, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Bears Overpower Bulldogs to Begin SoCon Tournament". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Mercer, VMI earn spots in semifinals". Southern Conference. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "Alvarez helps Mercer defeat VMI, gain 1st SoCon title game". WSLS. March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  4. ^ "UNCG wins SoCon, gets NCAA berth after 69-61 win over Mercer". Yahoo. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "2021-22 Mercer Bears Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 25, 2021.