DeLand, Fla. - Freshman guard Tyshawn Patterson (Orlando, Fla.) had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead four Hatters in double figures, three of them freshmen, but the Stetson men's basketball team (6-22, 4-15 Atlantic Sun) could not out-score the run-and-gun offense of visiting Lipscomb (15-12, 12-6 A-Sun) in an 85-71 loss at the Edmunds Center on Saturday night. Freshman forward Ridge Graham (Stuart, Fla.) had 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Hatters.
Lipscomb's efficient, fast-paced inside/outside attack wore Stetson down in the first half as the Bisons shot 54.5 percent (18-33) from the field and 45.5 percent (5-11) from three-point range. Lipscomb led 44-29 at halftime, but Stetson dug in and outscored the Bisons 42-41 in the second period. Graham scored 14 of his 16 points after the intermission; he also finished with three steals, two assists and a block in addition to his near double-double.
Freshman guard Joel Naburgs (Melbourne, Australia) and senior guard Mark Lohuis (Vero Beach, Fla.) scored 11 points each to also reach double figures for Stetson. Lipscomb guard Josh Slater scored 26 points with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals while center Adnan Hodzic tallied 26 points as well for the Bisons. Jordan Burgason (12 points, four assists) also reached double digits for the visitors.
"Lipscomb is a great team and coming in we knew they'd have to be a little off for us to beat them, but they weren't," Head Coach Derek Waugh said. "Tonight I saw a lot of positive signs for the future - our freshmen scored 58 of our 71 points. When you combine those kids with our incoming class, I feel we're going to reload very quickly."
Stetson concludes the 2009-10 season next Saturday at 7 p.m. when USC Upstate visits the Edmunds Center. The Senior Night game will be the farewell contest for Hatter upperclassmen A.J. Smith (Cocoa, Fla.), Brandon Williams (Miami, Fla.), Sheldon Oliver (Orlando, Fla.) and Lohuis.
"I encourage everyone to come out and support us on Senior Night because A.J., Brandon, Sheldon and Mark deserve a great sendoff after the careers they've had at Stetson."
The USC Upstate-Stetson game will be available live on Hatter Vision with Murray Miller and Harry Arnold; Live Stats are at www.GoHatters.com as well.
