DeLand, Fla. – Senior Luke Doyle hit a trio of three pointers in the opening minutes of the first half Friday night at the Edmunds Center to lead the Stetson Hatters' quick start against visiting Edward Waters, en route to an 85-52 victory over the visiting Tigers
 
Stetson improved to 6-4 on the year with the win. Edward Waters, which plays at the NAIA level, counted the game as an exhibition, their third of the year. The Tigers (4-6) are winless in three encounters with Division I teams, also losing to Florida Atlantic and North Florida.
 
Doyle finished the game for Stetson with just the three three-point baskets, tying him past Kerry Blackshear (1992-96) for third place on the Hatters' career list. He is now just 10 behind Joel Naburgs (2009-13) for second place on that list.
 
A big part of the hot start for the Hatters was the effort of point-guard Angel Rivera. After being held without an assist in Thursday's loss to Campbell, Rivera assisted on the first six Stetson baskets on Friday, in addition to grabbing three early rebounds. Rivera finished with 10 assists and five rebounds in just 23 minutes of playing time.
 
Hatters coach Corey Williams gave his large crop of freshmen plenty of playing time in the second half. Overall, 11 different Stetson players got into the scoring column, with Doyle's 13 points leading the way. Divine Myles (12), B.J. Glasford (11) and Larry Dennis (10) all scored in double figures in the game.
 
After racing out to a 40-20 lead at halftime, the Hatters muddled through the first few minutes of the second half before junior Leo Goodman, playing in just his second game of the year, drained a pair of three-point baskets. That got Stetson going again. Stetson pushed its lead to as many as 35 points late in the game before settling for the 33-point victory.
 
While Stetson shot 50.7 percent from the floor in the game, the Hatters held the Tigers to just 20-of-60 shooting from the floor (33.3%) and limited the visitors to just three three-point baskets on 11 attempts. The Hatters connected on 10 of their 25 three-point attempts in game.
 
Overall, the Stetson defense forced the Tigers into 22 turnovers, and the Hatters scored 36 points off those takeaways.
 
The Hatters will venture back onto the road next week with stops in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Poughkeepsie, NY, for games against Duquesne and Marist. The Dukes fell to 2-3 on the year with a 76-64 loss to cross-town rival Pitt on Friday night. They will host Maryland-Eastern Shore, on Monday before facing the Hatters on Wednesday.
 
From there, Stetson will travel to the Hudson Valley next Saturday to take on Marist (1-5). The Red Foxes earned their first win of the year on Friday, downing The Citadel 100-91. They face Army on Saturday in Charleston, SC, before hosting Colgate on Wednesday night.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.