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Hatters Hold Off Pesky Lions

Men's Basketball Stetson University

Hatters Hold Off Pesky Lions

DeLAND, Fla. – The Stetson Hatters got all they wanted and more from Division II Saint Leo on Saturday afternoon, but the Hatters were able to survive their showdown with the visiting Lions to take a 74-69 victory at the Edmunds Center.
   
The Hatters improve to 3-1 on the young season with the win while dropping Saint Leo to 2-2.

The showdown was very much still in doubt entering the final minute of action when Hatters junior forward Liam McInerney put back a missed jumper by Chris Perez and drew a foul. The old-fashioned three-point play broke a 67-all tie.

Stetson was able to put the game away at the free throw line as sophomore Aaron Graham connected on four straight in the final 25 seconds to secure the victory.

“I didn't anticipate this game was going to be easy,” Stetson coach Casey Alexander said. “I wanted it to be easy, but Lance (Randall) does a great job with his team, so I assumed it was going to be the tough game that it was.”

Stetson appeared on the verge of pulling away minutes before the dramatic finish. The Hatters had their largest lead of the day at the 7:16 mark when McInerney converted a pair of free throws, pushing the Stetson advantage to 60-48.

From there the Lions came roaring back. Freshman Taylor Bassett connected on a three-pointer, which was followed in rapid succession by two turnovers and consecutive threes by junior Marcus Ruh, cutting the margin to just three, 60-57.

A Perez tip-in at the 2:24 mark pushed the Stetson lead back to six, but Saint Leo's Trent Thomas quickly drained another three, one of 12 in the game for the Lions. A Stetson turnover was followed by a three-point play by Dominick Robinson at the 1:06 mark, knotting the score and setting the stage for the dramatic closing seconds.

“We didn't make the adjustments on offense that we are supposed to make,” Alexander said. “We are supposed to get the ball inside to Adam (Pegg) for him to score, and then we are supposed to take what that gives us by getting skip passes and open shots. We didn't do that. We got out of what our offense is supposed to do and started playing on our own.”

Pegg did his part in the game, leading the Hatters with 17 points while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing six assists. Stetson was unable to convert as often from the outside as it needed to, however, hitting just 10-of-29 from three-point range.

The Lions did convert from the perimeter, hitting 12-of-23 from outside, including 4-of-6 from Ruh, who finished with 18 points, and 3-of-5 from Thomas, who finished with a game-high 21.

McInerney turned out to be the Hatters' best three-point option in the second half, hitting both of his attempts despite coming into the game having hit just 3-of-28 in his career. He finished the game with 13 points. Perez added 10 to run his streak of double-figure scoring to four games to start the year.

“Liam hit a couple of threes that were big and his put-back, and one, that he got was huge timing and the effort was outstanding,” Alexander said. “He is a guy who consistently does what he is supposed to do. If you ask anyone on our team or our staff, you can count on Liam giving his best effort every time.”

As expected, the Hatters dominated the smaller Lions on the boards, out-rebounding Saint Leo 41-24, but the visitors made Stetson pay for each of their 16 turnovers, converting those into 31 points.

The Hatters will venture back onto the road for their next game, on Monday night at Charleston Southern. The Buccaneers are off to a 2-1 start this year going into play on Saturday evening. Tipoff from the CSU Fieldhouse is scheduled for 7:30 Monday evening.
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Players Mentioned

Aaron Graham

#20 Aaron Graham

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Liam McInerney

#24 Liam McInerney

F
6' 8"
Freshman
Chris Perez

#3 Chris Perez

G
6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Aaron Graham

#20 Aaron Graham

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Liam McInerney

#24 Liam McInerney

6' 8"
Freshman
F
Chris Perez

#3 Chris Perez

6' 4"
Redshirt Sophomore
G