2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball
2024–25 Mercer Bears men's basketball
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	6–6 (0–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Ryan Ridder (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Jonathan Mitchell; Daniel Mondragon; Reed Ridder; Ben Whitherspoon;
Home arena	Hawkins Arena
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

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.

2024–25 Southern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Furman	0	–	0	–	12	–	1	.923
Samford	0	–	0	–	10	–	3	.769
Chattanooga	0	–	0	–	8	–	5	.615
East Tennessee State	0	–	0	–	7	–	6	.538
Mercer	0	–	0	–	6	–	6	.500
UNC Greensboro	0	–	0	–	6	–	6	.500
VMI	0	–	0	–	6	–	7	.462
The Citadel	0	–	0	–	5	–	6	.455
Wofford	0	–	0	–	5	–	7	.417
Western Carolina	0	–	0	–	4	–	7	.364

† 2025 SoCon tournament winner As of December 21, 2024

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

Ryan Ridder (Embry–Riddle)

Assistant coach(es)

Jonathan Mitchell (Rutgers)
Daniel Mondragon (Embry–Riddle)
Reed Ridder (Embry–Riddle)
Ben Witherspoon (Embry–Riddle)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 17, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	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			GSU Convocation Center Atlanta, GA
SoCon regular season
January 1, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Chattanooga			Hawkins Arena Macon, GA
January 4, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at VMI			Cameron Hall Lexington, Virginia
January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	East Tennessee State			Hawkins Arena Macon, GA
January 11, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Carolina			Ramsey Center 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

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

[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.

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