TAMPA, Fla. – Stetson men's basketball pulled off another shock win against a Florida-rival, this time taking down South Florida, 68-67, Monday night in the Yuengling Center.

"Just excited for our team to come into a tough atmosphere on the road once again," head coach Donnie Jones said "We played a well-coached team in South Florida and battled all the way to the end, especially after getting a big win at Florida State. We had great composure down the stretch and were fortunate to find a way to win. We will enjoy this one for 48 hours, I'm not a 24-hour guy, 48, we'll get on the plane, fly our team to Dublin and get to grow our team for the next six days."

South Florida got on the board first with a three, and then the Hatters took over. SU took the lead, 5-3, at the 16:51 mark and pushed that through halftime, and eventually the entire contest, stretching the advantage as high as 14, 31-17 at the 6:27 mark, but took a 10-point lead into the locker room at halftime [38-28].

The Bulls chipped away the deficit in the second half as both teams made runs. South Florida cut it to a one-point game, 49-48 with a 9-0 run involving back-to-back threes and a dunk at the 10:23 mark. A timeout allowed Stetson to regroup and push the margin back to two possessions, 53-48, after Stephan Swenson hit a jump shot and Luke Brown sank two free throws.

"Steph [Swenson] is our quarterback and our leader," Jones said "He's gives us great toughness and composure. He had to play extended minutes with Cyncier [Harrison] out tonight, we were thin at the guard position, but he was really tough down the stretch when we needed him to be. We also had guys stepping in and doing little things that give us the chance to win."

The game hovered in the single digits as the contest shifted into its final stages, expanding and retracting with a final retraction as the matchup headed to a close. South Florida's Tyler Harris knocked a jumper with 58 seconds on the clock to make it a one-point game, 68-67 Hatters. A turnover on the following Stetson possession looked like it may lead to disaster with South Florida taking possession down one with 31.5 left in the contest and a full shot clock, but Wheza Panzo came up with a critical defensive rebound after USF missed a shot then slammed an attempt off the outside of the rim. Panzo sent an outlet to Brown and after a few inbounds from deadballs, the Hatters were able to run out the clock and take a one-point victory out of Tampa.

"I think it was just a team effort," junior Stephan Swenson said "We got back on defense making big stops. They're a big, offensive-rebounding team. So by getting defensive rebounds and executing on the offensive end, it led us to win this game. Everybody who came in today did their part, Aubin played big, Josh got us started in the beginning of the game with five big points, Jalen staying aggressive, they were staying on Wez [Wheza Panzo] but as soon as he got open, boom, three, everybody did their part. Our depth helps us win games and we found out we can count on everybody."

For the second consecutive game, Luke Brown recorded 20 points off the bench with seven field goals, four from three-point range. Swenson chipped in 15 (6 FGs, 2 threes) with seven other Hatters scoring. Jalen Blackmon's five points were critical as all five came at the free-throw line, including drawing a foul from behind the arc as the shot clock clicked to one second. As a team, the Hatters sank 13-of-16 foul shots. Unselfish play led to 14 assists on 23 made baskets and rebounding was by committee with 10 Hats recording a rebound, paced by four from Panzo, Brown and Sam Peek. Stetson limited turnovers to six total.

"I think it's just confidence," sophomore Luke Brown said about his shooting performance "Putting my trust in the Lord, my teammates and the coaching staff. Coach Jones instilled a lot of confidence in me and when you don't have to worry about misses, usually you're going to see the ball go in. We executed the game plan, rebounding, limiting turnovers and everybody played their role. It was a great all-around team win. We needed everybody tonight."

As for the team, they add more history to the 22-23 squad. This is the first time since January 16, 1989 the Hatters have beaten South Florida. Wind the clocks back 10 more years for a Stetson win at South Florida [January 10, 1979). The win snapped a streak of 15 losses to the Bulls. Lastly, with two wins on the road to start the season, although not be design, you have to flip the record book back to the 1988-89 season to find the duplicate stat. The conversation these Hatters have put themselves in an early comparison to are teams all coached by Hatter Legend, Dr. Glenn Wilkes. The record accomplished this program that has never been done in Stetson history, beating Florida State and South Florida in the same year, let alone back-to-back.

Stetson will go wheels up and cross the Atlantic Ocean for a pair of games in Dublin, Ireland facing Rider on Friday morning with a 5 a.m. tipoff Eastern Standard time following with Niagara Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF). Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.