ORLANDO, Fla. – While Central Florida pulled away late, 73-58 final, most of Stetson men's basketball contest against UCF was played within two possessions at Addition Financial Arena on Wednesday night. Junior Josh Smith and sophomore Luke Brown had standout performances with Smith pacing the Hatters with 16 points and three rebounds. Brown notched 11 points off the bench.

"I thought we had some good spots throughout the game," head coach Donnie Jones said "I thought Josh [Smith] really played well. He played well in the second half at OU [Ohio] and carried that in [today], so that was a bright spot. Luke [Brown] came off the bench and is getting his confidence back and health back, which is important. I thought we had some good efforts from some various spots throughout the game of guys coming off the bench and doing some stuff. Alec Oglesby came off the bench and hit some big shots. Mahamadou Diawara came in and gave us some good minutes. We continue to learn from this non-conference experience, it's a new season now. There are bright spots, but there's some things we have to get better at. We learned a lot about our team in this non-conference schedule."

Central Florida took control early, scoring the first eight points of the contest. Stetson started digging out of the hole with threes, first by Wheza Panzo, then by Luke Brown with Alec Oglesby adding a third. UCF extended the advantage to as much as 12 points in the first half, before the Hatters climbed all the way back to one point down, 28-27 at the 4:02 mark. The home team was up by six after the end of the first 20 minutes, 38-32.

The second half was tighter than the first with Stetson climbing to within two possessions, 43-38 at the 16:37 mark with a layup by Jalen Blackmon, then keeping up with the Knights for a huge chunk of the game. With 11:39 to go, Brown knocked down a three to cut the game to two, 47-45. The home side pushed out to a five-point advantage, 50-45, but the Hats fired back after two free throws from Josh Smith, Sam Peek got a jumper to go, putting Stetson within one, 50-49. UCF pressed for a lead again, and Brown cut into the advantage again. The shifty guard shook his defender and nailed a three, 55-54 with 6:08 left. The Knights pulled away following Brown's three and scored on every trip down the court following that as Stetson fell to UCF, 73-58.

The Hatters have one more road game in the 2022 portion of the schedule but represents the start of ASUN Conference play. Stetson makes the trip to Nashville, facing Lipscomb on December 30, with tipoff scheduled for 3 p.m. [2 p.m. local start].
 
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.