Men's Basketball December 20, 2019 Athletic Communications

Hatters Welcome Panthers to Edmunds Center for Sunday Matinee

Stetson men's basketball closes out the 2019 portion of its home schedule when the Hatters host Florida International, 2 p.m., Sunday at Edmunds Center.

For the Hatters (5-8) the game is an opportunity to put a couple of recent frustrating losses behind them. Stetson's last two games have produced nail-biting setbacks to Longwood (76-72) last Sunday, and at UNC Asheville (78-76) on Tuesday.

Against UNCA the Hatters shot 62 percent from the field and owned a plus-13 rebounding margin. But Stetson couldn't overcome 21 turnovers and 14 missed free throws.

The loss spoiled several terrific individual performances. Rob Perry scored a game-high 29 points, Mahamadou Diawara finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds, and Kenny Aninye added a season-high 13 points.

The Panthers (8-3) enter Sunday's game following a 99-74 win over Florida Memorial on Thursday. Eric Lovett led FIU with 21 points.

About the Game
•The Hatters and Panthers are meeting for the 24th time on Sunday, with FIU holding a 14-9 lead in a series which began in 1990
•Stetson has won the previous three meeting, taking victories in 2015, 2016 and 2017
•This is Stetson's final home game in 2019
•In Tuesday's loss at UNC Asheville the Hatters shot a season-high 63.6 percent (28-44) from the floor. It was Stetson's first 60-percent shooting effort since hitting 61 percent of its shots at Kennesaw State on Jan. 2, 2013.
•Freshman Rob Perry scored 29 points against the Bulldogs, reaching double figures for the 10th time in 13 games this season, and hitting the 20-point mark for the fourth time overall.

Under the Hat
•Rob Perry (16.2) and Mahamadou Diawara (13.8) are the highest-scoring freshman tandem in the ASUN Conference at a combined 30.0 points per game. Perry is 9th nationally among all freshmen, and his 34 points at Western Illinois on Nov. 9 is the 2nd-best single-game effort by a freshman this season.
•Perry and Diawara also rank 1-2 on the Hatters in both scoring and rebounding (6.3 per game for Diawara, 5.2 for Perry).
•Rob Perry scored 34 points against Western Illinois on Nov. 9, the most by a Stetson freshman since 1983. He earned ASUN Newcomer of the Week honors for his performance.
•The Hatters made some history on Tuesday when five freshmen were in the starting lineup at UNC Asheville, for what's believed to be the first time in program history. The Hatters regularly started four freshmen during the 2010-11 season (Corey Walden Luis Jacobo, Steve Forbes, Aaron Graham) but research has not yet turned up another all-freshman starting five.
•Through games of Dec. 11, Stetson freshman Mahamadou Diawara is 15th nationally overall in field-goal percentage (.654) and 2nd among all freshmen, trailing only Arizona's Zeke Nnaji (.686).
•Terry Ivery got in on the freshman show last Sunday vs. Longwood, registering season-highs in points (11), assists (5) and minutes (21)

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.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Kenny Aninye: G; 6' 1"; Junior

#15 Mahamadou Diawara: F/C; 6' 10"; Freshman

#3 Terry Ivery: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

#2 Rob Perry: G; 6' 3"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Kenny Aninye
: 6' 1"; Junior
: G

#15 Mahamadou Diawara
: 6' 10"; Freshman
: F/C

#3 Terry Ivery
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

#2 Rob Perry
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: G

Stetson University Athletics

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Hatters Welcome Panthers to Edmunds Center for Sunday Matinee

Players Mentioned

#10 Kenny Aninye

#15 Mahamadou Diawara

#3 Terry Ivery

#2 Rob Perry

Players Mentioned

#10 Kenny Aninye

#15 Mahamadou Diawara

#3 Terry Ivery

#2 Rob Perry