Tallahassee, Fla. - The Seminoles flexed their muscles and handed the Hatters a lopsided 80-38 loss Wednesday night in the Tucker Center. For the Hatters it was their worst loss since February 27, 2003 when it fell 117-70 to Troy State on the road.
"It was a frustrating game. They took us out of everything we tried to do", said Stetson Head Coach Derek Waugh. "I don't know if it was a reaction to last year's game but they did a great job, they were on top of their game and they were ready to go."
Last year Stetson traveled to Tallahassee and narrowly missed upsetting FSU after a 50-36 surge in the second half fell two points short.
Freshman Tyshawn Patterson (Orlando, Fla.) led the Hatters in scoring once again with 15 points off the bench. He hit double figures for the third time in three games this season. Redshirt freshman Ridge Graham (Stuart, Fla.) started his second consecutive game and added eight points for the visitors. Senior Sheldon Oliver (Orlando, Fla.) was the team's top rebounder with four boards.
Stetson (1-2) had trouble getting started while Florida State (2-0) came out of the gate on fire. The Seminoles used runs of 11-3, 13-4, and 22-3 to surge into a 46-10 halftime lead. The 10 points was a modern day low for points scored in a half by the Hatters. The old mark of 13 points had happened three times in the past. It seemed FSU couldn't miss as it shot 54% (19-35) from the field and 100% (4-4) from the line.
After the break Stetson came out of the locker room with a 36-point deficit and nothing to lose. Although the home team continued to play its starters for most of the second half, the Hatters showed they had something left and improved their scoring output by 18 points and their shooting percentage from 14% to 37%.
Patterson scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, Graham added six and fellow freshmen JR Weston (Morral, Ohio) and Joel Naburgs (Victoria, Australia) each knocked down a 3-pointer.
"I can think of maybe two losses worse than this since I have been here. We are going to have to go back to the drawing board in terms of finding a way for this team to manufacture baskets", said Waugh.
For Stetson the road trip isn't over yet. This weekend the Hatters travel to Charleston, S.C. for a Saturday night game vs. Charleston Southern at 8:30 p.m. Murray Miller and Harry Arnold will be at the game to bring Hatters fans all the action on Hatter Vision audio.
