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Kenny Aninye

Men's Basketball Athletic Communications

Hatters Begin Road Trip Thursday at North Alabama

Stetson men's basketball returns to the road this weekend for a pair of ASUN Conference games. First up on the schedule is meeting with North Alabama, 7 p.m., Thursday, at Flowers Hall in Florence, Ala.
 
Stetson also visits Jacksonville, 6 p.m., Saturday.
 
The Hatters (7-11 overall, 1-2 ASUN) are trying to shake off a series of narrow home losses, the latest a 66-62 overtime setback to FGCU last Saturday. Stetson is just 3-5 at home this season, with four of the five losses coming by a total of 17 points.
 
The road has been much kinder to the Hatters in 2019-20. After going winless away from Edmunds Center last season, Stetson is 4-6 away from home this year.
 
Despite the FGCU loss, freshman Rob Perry continued his outstanding season, scoring a game-high 27 points against the Eagles. Christiaan Jones added 13 but the Hatters were unable to hold late leads at the end of both regulation and overtime.
 
Perry is third in the ASUN in scoring (15.6) and second in 3-point field-goal percentage (.454). With 44 3-pointers in 18 games, he is on pace to break Stetson's freshman record of 61 set by Derrick DeWitt in 1999-2000.
 
North Alabama (7-10, 2-2) is tied for third in the ASUN standings as the weekend begins. The Lions split a pair of games last weekend, finishing with an 82-69 win at Lipscomb. Jamari Blackmon leads the Lions in scoring at 12.4 points per game.
 
About the Game
•Thursday's game will be just the third meeting between the Lions and Hatters. North Alabama joined the ASUN prior to the 2018-19 season.
•The teams split their game last season, with each team winning a close game at home
•Stetson signee GianCarlo Valdez is currently a senior at nearby Heritage christian Academy in Decatur
•North Alabama head coach Tony Pujol coached five seasons (2010-14) at Alabama under former Stetson assistant Anthony Grant. Stetson head coach Donnie Jones spent last season as an assistant under Grant at Dayton. Jones and Grant, of course, also coached together at Florida under Billy Donovan.
 
Under the Hat
•Stetson's overtime loss to FGCU last Saturday was its first overtime game since Nov. 23, 2018 against VMI in DeLand
•Rob Perry's 27 points against FGCU were his most at home this season
•Stetson's win at South Carolina on Dec. 29 was historic in a few ways. Not only was the victory the Hatters' first against an SEC team since 2004 (Georgia, 56-54), but it was also Stetson's first against a Power 5 opponent since an 89-79 win at Wake Forest in the 2010-11 season opener.
•Rob Perry (15.6) and Mahamadou Diawara (13.2) continue to be the highest-scoring freshman tandem in the ASUN Conference at a combined 28.8 points per game. Perry is 8th 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 (7.0 per game for Diawara, 5.0 for Perry).
•The Hatters made some history on Dec. 17 when five freshmen (Diawara, Ivery, Kabimba, Panzo, Perry) 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 but research has not yet turned up another all-freshman starting five.
•Through games of Jan. 9, Stetson freshman Mahamadou Diawara is 20th nationally overall in field-goal percentage (.612) and 4th among all freshmen.
 
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

Christiaan Jones

#0 Christiaan Jones

G
6' 5"
Junior
Mahamadou Diawara

#15 Mahamadou Diawara

F/C
6' 10"
Freshman
Rob Perry

#2 Rob Perry

G
6' 3"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Christiaan Jones

#0 Christiaan Jones

6' 5"
Junior
G
Mahamadou Diawara

#15 Mahamadou Diawara

6' 10"
Freshman
F/C
Rob Perry

#2 Rob Perry

6' 3"
Freshman
G