Hatters Unable to Knock Humpty Off Wall in Loss

ORLANDO, Fla. – On a night when Stetson's leading scorer was held without a single point, junior guard Aaron Graham did all that he could do to take up the slack, but the Hatters lost an overtime heartbreaker to James Madison 71-69 at UCF Arena.

The Hatters were simply unable find an answer for the Dukes' diminutive guard Humpty Hitchens. He scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half and overtime to lift JMU (7-4) to the win.

The loss for the Hatters (4-8) was the fifth in a row, and the toughest to swallow. Stetson had as much as a nine point lead late in regulation before Hitchens heated up, hitting four of his six three-pointers down the stretch.

The Dukes' Devon Moore gave JMU the win in the closing seconds of overtime when he drove into the lane and scored on a short jumper with four seconds left. Graham's desperation three at the horn missed the mark for Stetson.

Graham scored a career-high 26 points and keyed a 15-0 second half run for the Hatters by hitting a trio of three-pointers. After the last of those threes, with 10:17 left in regulation, Graham was held scoreless until the 2:05 mark of overtime.

Hitchens had a big hand in shutting Graham down during that stretch after he took over the defensive assignment.

Junior center Adam Pegg did all that he could do down the stretch to keep Stetson in the game. He finished with 19 points, 11 of which came in the second half. Joel Naburgs also gave the Hatters a lift in the second half, scoring 10 of his 12 points after intermission.

Stetson's leading scorer coming into the game, sophomore guard Chris Perez, was held scoreless in the game. Perez was 0-for-9 from the floor, 0-for-1 from the free throw line, had six turnovers and four fouls.

JMU used and 11-2 run in the opening minutes of the second half and appeared to be on the verge of taking control of the game before Graham heated up.

The first half was much like a heavyweight title fight, with both teams throwing easy punches in order to feel out the other without doing much damage. Thanks to a pair of three-pointers from Graham, who had 10 points at the break, the Hatters held a 26-25 lead.

The teams combined in the first 20 minutes to hit just three-of-20 from beyond the arc. Stetson shot the ball better than JMU overall, but had nine fewer attempts than the Dukes, who shot just 36.4 percent.

The Hatters will return to Atlantic Sun Conference play next week with a two-game road trip to Georgia. Stetson will face Kennesaw State (3-10, 0-2) on Monday night before playing Mercer (8-6, 1-1) on Wednesday.

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Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham: G; 6' 4"; Freshman

#12 Joel Naburgs: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

#41 Adam Pegg: F/C; 6' 9"; Junior

#3 Chris Perez: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham
: 6' 4"; Freshman
: G

#12 Joel Naburgs
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

#41 Adam Pegg
: 6' 9"; Junior
: F/C

#3 Chris Perez
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

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Hatters Unable to Knock Humpty Off Wall in Loss

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham

#12 Joel Naburgs

#41 Adam Pegg

#3 Chris Perez

Players Mentioned

#20 Aaron Graham

#12 Joel Naburgs

#41 Adam Pegg

#3 Chris Perez