Stetson junior guard Garfield Blair (Orlando, Fla.) led the Hatters with 16 points and 7 rebounds but it wasn't enough to keep pace as the Hatters fell 71-48 to the two-time defending national champion Florida Gators.
Things looked promising early for a Stetson squad that opened the game with a 10-1 run. Sophomore guard A.J. Smith (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) and junior center Tim Lang (Victoria, Australia) hit back-to-back 3-pointers putting the Hatters up 6-0. And then, following a Gator free throw Blair and Lang scored a pair of layups and Stetson held a nine point lead.
A steal and a dunk by Blair had the Hatters up 12-3 with 14:00 on the clock. However, the early dominance by Stetson ended there as the Gators scored the next 14 points and led 17-12 with 10:00 minutes remaining in the opening period. The Hatters were able to pull within six points (27-21) at the 3:24 mark, yet that was as close as they would come for the remainder of the game. Florida pulled into halftime up 35-21.
Although Stetson was facing a very difficult challenge, its recurring demon this season resurfaced once again as the Hatters shot just 30.8% (19-57) from the field. On the other end the Gators were 27-50 for a 53.8 shooting percentage.
On a positive note, Stetson continued its excellent play on the defensive end of the floor holding the Gators to 71 points, just over its season average. Coming into the game Stetson was 2nd in the Atlantic Sun in scoring defense giving up just 67.8 points per contest. Stetson is also 3rd in the conference in turnover margin at +1.67. The Hatters and the Gators played even in that category with 14 turnovers per team.
Another positive note was the offensive play of senior forward J.J. Hirst (Okeechobee, Fla.) who scored a season-high nine points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field, 1-for-1 from 3-point range.
With the loss Stetson dropped to 2-5 on the season while Florida raised its mark to 6-1. The Gators' only blemish on the season came at the hands of in-state rival Florida State. The same Seminoles who will be the Hatters' next opponent. Stetson travels to Tallahassee on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. game that will be broadcast on FSN Florida.
