DeLAND—Georgia Southern's Jelani Hewitt scored 20 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Eagles to a 76-67 win over Stetson, Thursday at Edmunds Center.
The loss is the fourth straight for the Hatters (3-9) and comes despite a career-high 20 points by freshman Grant Lozoya, who was making his first career start.
Stetson controlled play throughout much of the game, but Hewitt proved to be too tough down the stretch. The Hatters led 40-33 at halftime and 58-52 with 10:01 to play before Hewitt got loose.
After consecutive three-pointers by B.J. Glasford and Lozoya gave the Hatters a six point lead, Hewitt went on a personal 9-0 run, sinking three consecutive treys in the span of 1:04 to give the Eagles a 61-58 lead with 8:28 to go.
Stetson tied the game at 61-61 on Lozoya's sixth-and-final triple of the game with 5:31 left, but the Hatters were never able to regain the lead. Stetson was 1-for-7 from the field in the final 4:21 as Georgia Southern escaped with the win.
Lozoya was 7-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range in 25 minutes. He is the second Stetson freshman this season to score 20 points, matching the total scored by Divine Myles against New Mexico State on Nov. 24.
Myles enjoyed another solid game, scoring 14 points and dishing a career-high eight assists. Sophomore Cameron Harvey scored 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting.
Hewitt was 8-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 from deep, and was perfect on all 10 of his free throw attempts. The fifth-year senior added seven rebounds, four steals, and two assists. Three other Eagles scored 10 points each.
Stetson shot 44 percent from the field, but just 35 percent in the second half. Georgia Southern flipped the script, shooting 36 percent in the first half and 56 percent in the final 20 minutes.
The Hatters close out the pre-Christmas portion of their schedule when they visit Florida State, 2 p.m., Monday, Dec. 22 in Tallahassee.
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