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2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball
2015–16 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Challenge in Music City Champions
CIT, First round
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	19–15 (8–10 SoCon)
Head coach	Bob Hoffman (8th season);
Assistant coaches	Doug Esleeck; Jarred Merrill; Jason Eaker;
Home arena	Hawkins Arena
	Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Chattanooga †	15	–	3	.833	29	–	6	.829
East Tennessee State	14	–	4	.778	24	–	12	.667
Furman	11	–	7	.611	19	–	16	.543
Wofford	11	–	7	.611	15	–	17	.469
Western Carolina	10	–	8	.556	16	–	18	.471
UNC Greensboro	10	–	8	.556	15	–	19	.441
Mercer	8	–	10	.444	19	–	15	.559
Samford	4	–	14	.222	14	–	19	.424
VMI	4	–	14	.222	9	–	21	.300
The Citadel	3	–	15	.167	10	–	22	.313

† 2016 SoCon Tournament winner

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.

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

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)	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

Bob Hoffman (Oklahoma Baptist)

Assistant coach(es)

Doug Esleeck (North Carolina)
Jarred Merrill (Oklahoma Christian)
Jason Eaker (Texas–Pan American)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

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.