Eric Diaz hit two key three-pointers down the stretch to lift Stetson to a 61-56 victory in the conference opener against Kennesaw State Thursday night.  The Hatters defense held the Owls to 32% shooting for the game.  Stetson improved to 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the A-Sun, while Kennesaw State dropped to 2-5 (0-1).

Both teams struggled to find?a rhythm in the first half, as each team shot under 35%.  The Hatters fell behind by as many as eight points before reeling off a 16-2 run to go on top 20-16.  From there Stetson would take a 26-21 lead into halftime.

The Hatters looked as if they might pull away early in the second half when they came out of the locker room on a 9-4 spurt to go ahead 35-25.  The lead would grow to as many as 14 with 13:19 to go before Kennesaw State stepped up the full court pressure.  A furious 21-5 run by the Owls tied the score at 48 with 8:28 to play. 

Diaz supplied his heroics with back-to-back three-pointers with less than a minute to go and the Hatters hit a requisite number of free throws to hold off the Owls.

Garfield Blair led Stetson with 11 points and six rebounds.  Diaz and Kris Thomas tallied 10 points each.  Shaun Stegall topped Kennesaw State with 15 points and 10 boards for the game's only double-double.  Golden Ingle dished out nine assists for the Owls, but shot just 1-10 from the floor and finished with four points.

The Hatters continue conference play Saturday night at 7:30 PM against East Tennessee State.

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