Tallahassee, Fla. - The Stetson men's basketball team came up on the short end of a 97-63 score to Florida State (8-2) Wednesday night in Tallahassee. With the loss Stetson fell to 3-6 overall and 1-2 against the ACC this season.
Sophomore Ridge Graham (Stuart, Fla.) led the Hatters with 14 points and six rebounds on the night. Corey Walden (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and Jermol Paul (West Palm Beach, Fla.) followed with 11 and 10 points respectively. Victoria, Australia's Liam McInerney and Graeme Radford equaled Graham's effort under the boards with six rebounds, a season-high for Radford.
Stetson opened the game with a pair of 3-pointers by Ridge Graham and Corey Walden to take a 6-1 lead. Florida State however, followed with a swarming defense and a relentless offense that led to a 28-2 run and a 29-8 lead with 9:05 remaining. The Hatters played the 'Noles even for the remainder of the first half yet the damage was done. Stetson shot just 27% (7-for-26) compared to 57% (16-of-28) for FSU.
In the second minute of the second half Walden buried a three-pointer and Graham hit a layup to reduce the deficit to 21 points at 53-32, yet that was as close as the Hatters would get for the remainder of the game.
"Florida State played really well. They did a nice job preparing for us... It was a very tough night", said Stetson head coach Derek Waugh.
Overall Stetson shot 32% from the field and 74% from the line. The Seminoles had 21 more opportunities from the line and made 32 of them. They outrebounded the Hatters 42-36 and scored 28 points off of Stetson's 21 turnovers.
Every player on the Hatter roster saw action in the game including sophomores Diego Morales (Orlando, Fla.) and Spence Purnell (Bradenton, Fla.) who scored the first points of their collegiate careers. Morales hit a field goal and a pair of free throws for four points and Purnell was 2-for-2 from the line for two points.
Next up the Hatters will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to take part in the L.V. Holiday Hoops Classic. Stetson will play Rice on Dec. 21 at 3:00 p.m., Akron on Dec. 22 at 5:15 p.m., and Arkansas-Little Rock on Dec. 23 at 7:00 p.m. Stetson fans can hear the games on Hatter Vision with 17-year veterans Murray Miller and Harry Arnold calling the action. 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.
