Wednesday, December 21, 2011

MACON, Ga. - Eleven men's basketball games are slated for play over the week including one schedule to be shown on ESPN3.

Mercer takes on in-state foe Georgia Tech on Thursday, December 22nd on the road and can be viewed on ESPN3. Only one contest will be broadcasted on ASun.TV over the next week; Toledo at FGCU, on Thursday.

• Belmont’s Ian Clark and Kennesaw State’s Spencer Dixon both passed 1,000 career point plateau last week. The duo became the 136th and 137th student-athletes to achieve the feat in the A-Sun.
• With 157 career blocks, ETSU’s senior forward Isiah Brown ranks ninth-best in A-Sun history. He currently sits second in the conference this season with 1.6 blocks per outing. North Florida’s Matt Sauey ranks 19th all-time with 120 career swats.
• Five of the top-six scorers for the Eagles this season are underclassmen. Freshmen and sophomores account for more than 70 percent of the FGCU offense.
• Jacksonville continues its brutal road schedule with a contest at UAB on Thursday. Ten of Jacksonville’s first 12 games this season are on the road. So far JU is 1-7 in road contests.
• Lipscomb’s senior guard Jordan Burgason has continued his hot shooting from behind the arc. Burgason is averaging 3.25 made three-pointers, while shooting .481 from three. He also ranks 5th amongst current players with 924 career points.
• One of the keys to Mercer’s 7-5 start has been its defense. The Bears lead the league in field-goal defense by holding opponents to .375 shooting and also blocking a league-best 5.1 shot attempts per game. On six occasions, the Bears have held their opponents to fewer than 60 points.
• The Ospreys wrap up their four-game road trip at Florida A&M on Wednesday before returning home for three-straight contests. UNF is 0-7 on the road, but a perfect 5-0 on their home court.
• USC Upstate leads the league in wins with eight so far this season. The win total already surpasses last year total and is one away from tying the Division I program record for wins, which was set in the 2008-09 season.
• The Hatters continue to lead the A-Sun in rebounding this season with 38.7 boards per game. Last year, Stetson ranked eighth in the same category.
• Belmont dropped to No. 17 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll this week after a 1-1 week. The Bruins have been ranked in the top-20 throughout the season.
• Mercer’s Jakob Gollon continues to rank in the top-10 nationally for free-throw percentage. In the latest rankings, Gollon landed at fifth with his 94.1 percentage at the charity stripe. The sophomore forward has missed only two free throws this season (32-of-34).
• Three A-Sun teams (ETSU, USC Upstate and Lipscomb) rank in the top-35 nationally for steals per contests. The Bucs lead the way with 10.3 per game - good for 5th - while the Spartans (9.5; 17th) and Bison (9.1; 32nd) aren’t far behind. ETSU’s Sheldon Cooley ranks 18th nationally with 2.6 swipes per contest.
• The Spartans opened conference play on the road and picked up two league wins at Stetson and FGCU. USC Upstate has won its conference openers in three-straight seasons. It marks only the third time in the past three seasons, Upstate has won back-to-back A-Sun contests.