2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record9–8 (2–2 SoCon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jonathan Mitchell
  • Daniel Mondragon
  • Reed Ridder
  • Ben Whitherspoon
Home arenaHawkins Arena
Seasons
← 2023–24
2025–26 →
2024–25 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Samford 4 – 0   1.000 14 – 3   .824
East Tennessee State 3 – 1   .750 10 – 7   .588
UNC Greensboro 3 – 1   .750 10 – 7   .588
Wofford 3 – 1   .750 9 – 8   .529
Furman 2 – 2   .500 14 – 3   .824
Chattanooga 2 – 2   .500 10 – 7   .588
Mercer 2 – 2   .500 9 – 8   .529
Western Carolina 1 – 3   .250 5 – 10   .333
VMI 0 – 4   .000 6 – 11   .353
The Citadel 0 – 4   .000 5 – 10   .333
† 2025 SoCon tournament winner
As of January 13, 2025

The 2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represents Mercer University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by first-year head coach Ryan Ridder, play their home games at Hawkins Arena in Macon, Georgia as a member of the Southern Conference.

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2023–24 season 16–17, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in eighth place. They defeated The Citadel in the first round of the SoCon tournament,[1] before losing to Samford in the quarterfinals.[2] Following the conclusion of the season, head coach Greg Gary and the school parted ways.[3]

Roster

2023–24 Mercer Bears men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Jah Quinones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Orlando, FL
G/F 1 Cam Bryant 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Camilla, GA
G 2 Jah Nze 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Oviedo, FL
G 3 Tyler Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS Athens, GA
G 4 Ahmad Robinson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr West Orange, NJ
F 6 Alex Holt 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lexington, NC
G 9 Angel Montas Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So La Romana, DR
C 10 Alex Koch 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Athens, GA
G 11 Brady Shoulders 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Eddyville, KY
F 12 Petras Padegimas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Kaunas, Lithuania
F 14 TJ Grant 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Warner Robins, GA
G/F 22 Laurynas Vaistaras 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) GS Plungė, Lithuania
G 24 Braeden Carlsen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Wauconda, IL
F 33 Marcus Overstreet 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Chicago, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 17, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Virginia–Lynchburg W 125–54  1–0
 Hawkins Arena (2,053)
Macon, GA
November 11, 2024*
9:00 p.m., FS2 		at DePaul L 64–95  1–1
 Wintrust Arena (2,913)
Chicago, IL
November 13, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Trinity Baptist W 101–43  2–1
 Hawkins Arena (1,219)
Macon, GA
November 16, 2024*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at South Alabama L 66–75  2–2
 Mitchell Center (1,652)
Mobile, AL
November 21, 2024*
7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+ 		at South Carolina
Fort Myers Tip-Off campus game 		L 72–84  2–3
 Colonial Life Arena (11,054)
Columbia, SC
November 25, 2024*
1:30 p.m., PTB Live 		vs. Jacksonville
Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Semifinals 		W 90–89 OT 3–3
 Suncoast Credit Union Arena (592)
Fort Myers, FL
November 26, 2024*
1:30 p.m., PTB Live 		vs. Miami (OH)
Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Championship 		L 72–75  3–4
 Suncoast Credit Union Arena (610)
Fort Myers, FL
December 4, 2024*
11:00 a.m., ESPN+ 		West Georgia W 86–72  4–4
 Hawkins Arena (1,309)
Macon, GA
December 8, 2024*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Stetson W 89–83 OT 5–4
 Edmunds Center (650)
DeLand, FL
December 15, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Chicago State W 75–63  6–4
 Hawkins Arena (812)
Macon, GA
December 18, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Queens L 66–73  6–5
 Curry Arena (512)
Charlotte, NC
December 21, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Winthrop L 97–102  6–6
 Winthrop Coliseum (1,587)
Rock Hill, SC
December 28, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Georgia State W 71–68  7–6
 GSU Convocation Center (1,710)
Atlanta, GA
SoCon regular season
January 1, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Chattanooga W 99–94 OT 8–6
(1–0) 		Hawkins Arena (1,007)
Macon, GA
January 4, 2025
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at VMI W 70–67  9–6
(2–0) 		Cameron Hall (536)
Lexington, VA
January 8, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		East Tennessee State L 68–70  9–7
(2–1) 		Hawkins Arena (2,217)
Macon, GA
January 12, 2025
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Western Carolina L 82–85  9–8
(2–2) 		Ramsey Center (1,420)
Cullowhee, NC
January 15, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Samford Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
January 18, 2025
6:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Wofford Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium 
Spartanburg, SC
January 22, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UNC Greensboro First Horizon Coliseum 
Greensboro, NC
January 25, 2025
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Furman Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
January 29, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		The Citadel Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
February 1, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Chattanooga McKenzie Arena 
Chattanooga, TN
February 5, 2025
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Samford Pete Hanna Center 
Homewood, AL
February 8, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Wofford Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
February 12, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Furman Timmons Arena 
Greenville, SC
February 15, 2025
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		VMI Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
February 19, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at The Citadel McAlister Field House 
Charleston, SC
February 22, 2025
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UNC Greensboro Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
February 26, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at East Tennessee State Freedom Hall Civic Center 
Johnson City, TN
March 1, 2025
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		West Carolina Hawkins Arena 
Macon, GA
SoCon tournament
March 7–10, 2025*
 vs. TBD Harrah's Cherokee Center 
Asheville, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[4][5]

References

  1. ^ "Big Offensive Day Leads Bears Past The Citadel". Mercer University Athletics. 2024-03-08. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  2. ^ "Mercer Falls To Samford In Southern Conference Quarterfinals". Mercer University Athletics. 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  3. ^ McGouirk, Brandon (2024-03-11). "Bears bid farewell as Mercer's Coach Gary not to return next basketball season". WGXA. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  4. ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Schedule". Mercer University Athletics. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  5. ^ "Mercer Bears 2024-25 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-10-17.