Women’s basketball
Head coach Michelle Clark-Heard and the women's basketball team played the University of North Carolina-Asheville in Hawkins Arena on Monday, Nov. 4, earning a decisive, 75-52 win against the Bulldogs. During the game, Mercer shot nearly 59 percent from the field with 44 of their 75 points coming from inside the paint.
At 6 feet 3 inches, Ashlee Locke ‘25 was a key piece to Heard’s strategy of controlling the paint, registering 10 rebounds and co-leading the team in scoring with 14 points, sharing the load with Aliyah Collins ‘26, who added 14 points of her own.
Aspen Johnson ‘27 and Nahawa Diarra ‘25 combined for 22 points, shooting 57 percent from the field. Diarra scored the team’s only successful 3-point try.
On Saturday, the Bears dropped their second game, 58-48, and moved to 1-1 on the season against the Florida Atlantic University Owls. Locke led the team with her second double-double of the season, recording 23 points and 16 rebounds while shooting 90 percent from the free throw line. The senior shot 7-for-13 from the field while her teammates combined for 10-for-39, or slightly more than 25 percent.
After attempting just three 3-point shots in their season opener, the Bears tried 16 against the Owls, scoring two. FAU scored 44 percent of their shots from long range and 38 percent from the field.
Men’s basketball
Head coach Ryan Ridder and the men’s basketball team also won their home opener, beating the Virginia University of Lynchburg, 125-54, on Nov. 7. Their 125 points is a new program record.
The Bears got an early start in the first half, leading 18-10 within six minutes of tip-off. Marcus Overstreet ‘27 and Alex Holt ‘25 then went on a scoring run to extend their lead to 30-10. Overstreet led the team with nine rebounds in 12 minutes and had the Bears’ only block. By halftime, Mercer had widened the score differential to 30 points, ending the first period up 59-29.
The Bears shot nearly 60 percent from the field, and a dozen Mercer players made at least two field goals in the game. Mercer was led by Angel Montas, Jr. ‘27 with 18 points, Tyler Johnson ‘25 with 16 points and TJ Grant ‘26 with 13 points. The team went 13-for-30 from deep, led by Johnson, who shot 4-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Mercer will play in Chicago on Monday, Nov. 11 to battle DePaul University in their first away game of the season. While the Blue Demons went 3-29 last season, the team plays in the Big East Conference, which contains the likes of perennial superpowers Villanova, Georgetown and last year’s March Madness champion, University of Connecticut. DePaul is 2-0 this season and is coming off a 92-59 win on Thursday.
Kennedy Jenkins '27 is majoring in Media Studies and Communications at Mercer University with a minor in Spanish. In addition to The Cluster, she also works with ESPN+ in hopes of becoming a Sports Broadcaster. In her free time, she enjoys playing video games and basketball with friends.
