Under the basket or beyond the arc, senior forward Brian Mills is a lot to deal with. His motor does not stop running and undoubtedly it never has.

"My first overall game was against Southern California, a ranked opponent. OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson and those guys. Me and Mark Hall actually both played really well that game and I thought both of us could have special careers here and it's been a blast," says Brian Mills.

Brian's come a long way since that game against the Trojans and Mercer Men's Basketball Coach Bob Hoffman knows why.

"If you really work hard at your game, good things are going to happen. I think Brian's doing a great job of that himself and he's seen it in the seniors before him," says Bob Hoffman, Mercer Men's Basketball Coach.

Mills entered this season as one of four talented seniors returning from last year's Conference Finals team, but now Kevin Smith and Brandon Moore are lost for the year with knee injuries.

"I got real emotional, it was brutal. It was a tough feeling for me personally just having two of my friends go down with injury in my senior year," says Mills.

With two of his fellow seniors out, it was time for fan favorite Mills to take his game to the next level.

And the senior has done just that. Mercer has won three straight games and Mills scored over 20 points in each of the victories. Coach Hoffman likes what he sees.

"He's just being a vocal leader. Being the first one on the floor, last one to leave. He's done all those things," says Hoffman.

Currently 5th in the Atlantic Sun Conference, Mercer can't let up in its final five regular season games. Luckily, Brian Mills is not scared of a little competition.

"It's been a bast to play against the quality opponents and compete against them. Not only compete but win a few of them," says Mills.