West Virginia Welcomes Mercer for First-Ever Meeting

The West Virginia Mountaineers (2-0) welcome the Mercer Bears (2-2) to Hope Coliseum Thursday night for the first meeting between the two programs. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. and the action will stream on ESPN+.

Mercer is amid a five-game road trip and are coming off a 97-91 win overtime win at Georgia Southern.

The Bears first game during the road stretch was in Blacksburg (VA) for a matchup against Virginia Tech. Mercer battled early but Tech widened its margin with a propelling 21-1 run towards the end of the first half as the Hokies coasted to a 96-67 win.

Quinton Perkins has exploded as the team’s leading scorer after pouring in 52 points in the last two road games against Davidson and Georgia Southern. The senior guard is averaging 16.4 points, a team-best 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals per game in his second season with the program.

Derek Goodman led Ohio Dominican is scoring (15.8) last season and the junior guard transfer is beginning to establish himself at Mercer with a pair of double figure performances and is second on the team with an average of 12.5 points per game.

Forward Karon Boyd and guards Shane Cherry and KJ Lamonte round out the Bears averaging double double figure. Boyd, a fifth-year Wichita State transfer, is averaging 11.5 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds. Cherry is also averaging 11.5 ppg, including a season-high 21 points in the season opener, while Lamont averages 11.0 points per game and produced a season-high 21 points against Virginia Tech.

Additionally, six-foot-11 forward Makoi Mabor Makoi is coming off a double double performance with 15 points and 12 rebounds against Georgia Southern.

West Virginia has produced 91 points in the first two games of the season with an average margin of victory of 41.5 points.

The Mountaineers are led by freshman point guard Miles Sadler, leading the team in scoring (20.5 ppg) and assists (7.5 apg) and set a personal best 25 points in the last outing against Stetson.

Joson Sanon, the St. John’s junior guard transfer, has been coming off the bench to average 13.5 points per game, which ranks second on the team, while senior guard Finley Bizjack averages 12.0 ppg and sophomore center Mouhamed Sylla averages 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, rounding out the four Mountaineers averaging double figures.

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