It was only four seasons ago that a senior-laden Mercer team knocked off Duke in the first round of the 2014 NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Mercer coach Bob Hoffman has a similar makeup this season.
After a slow start in Southern Conference play, the Bears appear to be heating up, with back-to-back home wins, including a 31-point humbling of Samford last Saturday. Hoffman starts five seniors, and the level of experience his team brings should prove to be vital as the conference season rolls along.
"I like our guys. They're really good kids," Hoffman said after his team's 75-71 overtime win over the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Monday. "We really want to do what's right. We have an amazingly tough league that's very deep. There are no easy games, period - no easy places to play - and you've just got to get momentum when you can."
The Bears are 9-9 overall and 2-3 in the SoCon. They got off to a bad start in league play, following a 74-55 home loss to East Tennessee State with three- and two-point losses at Furman and Western Carolina. But they stopped the skid in dominating fashion against Samford, which was 3-1 in league play before that matchup.
The all-senior starting unit of guards Jordan Strawberry, Ria'n Holland and Demetre Rivers and forwards Stephon Jelks and Desmond Ringer all scored in double figures and had all but four of the Bears' points against UTC. The veteran unit was solid down the stretch of overtime, which proved to be the difference.
"It's great to have guys who can make plays, and who you trust," Hoffman said. "We'll continue to figure out what we should do, when and where, but you're never a finished product until you get to the end.
"Theoretically we're a one-bid league. Every once in a while you might have a chance to do something different, but you've got to be at your best when you get to the end, so all these games, opponents, tight ballgames - if you figure out how to finish and get some momentum, some juice about who you are and how to get that done, it's a huge, huge thing no matter if you're young, old or whatever. You've got to figure it out.
"It's not an easy thing all the time, because the style of play is different (in the SoCon) and who you play against is, so what might work one night is not going to work the next."
Buc-ing the trend
The East Tennessee State women's 65-58 win over UTC on Jan. 12 in Johnson City snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Mocs, who are 56-4 against league competition since Jim Foster took over the program in 2013.
The Bucs held the Mocs without a field goal for the final 6:33 and outscored the visitors 10-3 down the stretch to gain their first win in the series since Nov. 12, 2010.
"You don't feel relieved. You don't feel excited," ETSU coach Brittney Ezell told ETSUBucs.com afterward. "It's really hard to explain. I feel grateful for the people that came before these kids. I feel grateful for our fans. I feel grateful for the effort that our kids gave tonight, and I almost feel like a fan for our kids.
"I walked in that locker room and I wanted to cry and just give everyone a hug, because they've worked so hard. It's not just this weekend preparation. It's been years coming. I told them we haven't beat Chattanooga yet, but I have faith that we're going to, and that's what they went out and did. I'm just really grateful for our kids, our program, our supporters and the opportunity to do something like this."
Ezell's Bucs and Mercer are the only undefeated women's teams remaining in the league, which is nearing the midway point.
Players of the week
The Citadel's Zane Najdawi and UNC Greensboro's Ije Ajemba were chosen the SoCon players of the week - Ajemba for the second time this season.
The 6-foot-7 Najdawi averaged 29 points, led by a career-high 37 against UTC, and made 24 of his 29 shots. Ajemba helped the Spartans improve to 2-2 in the league with averages of 16 points and 16.5 rebounds in wins over Furman and Wofford.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.