Sophomore guard A.J. Smith (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) ended up one point shy of his career high scoring 21 points and leading the Hatters (2-4) to their first win in five games; 62-51 over Bethune-Cookman in the Edmunds Center. It was the first time a Hatter had scored 20 points or more since Gabe McMillen scored 21 points last season against Jacksonville (2/18/07). Smith scored 22 points in the game just prior to Jacksonville against North Florida on February 15, 2007.

Leaving its recent shooting woes behind it, Stetson opened up the game on fire scoring 13 of the game's first 15 points. The Hatters hit three 3-pointers in that stretch two by junior guard Kris Thomas (Lithonia, Ga.) and one by Smith. For the game Smith was 8-for-13 from the field, 2-of-7 from 3-point range and 3-for-3 from the line.

Junior guard Garfield Blair (Orlando, Fla.), the team's leading scorer was the only other Hatter who scored in double figures with 11 points. Sophomore forward Sheldon Oliver continued his effective play of late scoring seven points, and more importantly hitting the boards for 11 rebounds. It was the first time this season a Stetson player finished a game with more than 10 rebounds. Blair was the last to do it with 13 boards against Kennesaw State on February 24, 2007.

The Wildcats (0-4) made a run late in the second half and took a 23-21 lead into the break. Smith tied the game with a layup at 19:09 of the second half sending the two teams into a back-and-forth dual until 13:13 remained. That was when Smith knocked down a 3-pointer and put the Hatters up to stay.

Bethune-Cookman's senior guard Jimmy Hudson (Eustis, Fla.) led the team in scoring with 13 points. Fellow senior guard Dwayne Pettus (Pittsburg, Pa.) and junior guard Josh Cummings (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 10 points each.

The Hatters will hit the road to play the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Tuesday and the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee on Friday. Both games will be televised on FSN Florida.