DeLand, Fla. - Solid shooting and a strong second half were key factors in the Stetson men's basketball team's 69-64 win over Savannah State Tuesday night in the Edmunds Center. Stetson (2-3) halted a three-game skid after its season-opening win at Wake Forest and extended Savannah State's current losing streak to seven games. The Tigers are now 1-7 on the season after defeating Brewton Parker in their first game.
After being down by three at the break the Hatters came out and shot an impressive 75% (12-of-16) from the field in the second half led by redshirt freshman Aaron Graham's 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. Graham (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) finished the game with a career-high 16 points shooting 4-of-5 from the field, 3-for-3 from long distance and 5-of-6 from the line. The "other" Graham, Stetson's leading scorer Ridge Graham (Stuart, Fla.) added 15 points for the Hatters. Also hitting double figures for the home team were Tyshawn Patterson (Orlando, Fla.) with 11 and Steve Forbes (Clermont, Fla.) with 10.
Although Stetson was able to push its second half lead to 11 points at 3:31, the game ended up being a free throw contest. Eighteen of the final 25 points scored in the game were from the stripe; 10 by the Hatters and eight by the Tigers. Although they shot just 58% from the line on the night, Stetson was able to knock just enough coming down the stretch to hang on for the win.
Filling it up from the field, however was not a problem for the Hatters who shot 58% (23-of-40) overall, 15% above their season average. Thirty four of their 69 points came from inside the paint.
"Our guys made some really big shots, some really good passes, and some really good plays that we haven't made in the past three games, and that was probably the difference", said Stetson head coach Derek Waugh. "The guys could have hung their heads after Palm Beach Atlantic but they stayed positive and stayed together."
"We still need to work on our free throw shooting though... That's going to give me a coronary", he added.
Living up to their billing as one of the youngest teams in Division I the Hatters started the game with four freshmen and one sophomore in the lineup. Starting at the point guard position and making his collegiate debut was freshman Corey Walden (Daytona Beach, Fla.), the two-time Volusia County Player of the Year. He sat out the first four games due to a dislocated knee cap suffered in Stetson's exhibition game against Florida Tech. Walden finished with eight points, two assists and two steals in 25 minutes on the court.
The teams played evenly throughout the first half. The largest lead was six points achieved by Stetson at 5:15 remaining and again at 3:47. After a six point run by the Tigers the score was tied at 24 with 2:24 to play. The half ended with a layup by Jovonni Schuler at 42 seconds that sent the visitors into the locker room with a three-point lead.
After suffering a two-game season sweep at the hands of the Tigers last season, Stetson improved its all-time record against them to 7-3. The two teams will meet again on January 18 in Savannah.
Next up the Hatters will begin conference play on the road against Jacksonville this Thursday, December 2 at 7:15 p.m. Hatter Vision subscribers can see the A-Sun TV broadcast at www.gohatters.com. Also be sure to follow the Hatters on Twitter at @StetsonSID (twitter.com/stetsonsid), "like" Stetson Athletics on Facebook and check out the official YouTube channel at youtube.com/stetsonhatters.
