JACKSONVILLE – Hatter men's basketball picked up a pivotal ASUN road win over Jacksonville University, 70-67, Thursday night at Swisher Gymnasium.
Stetson (14-10, 9-4 ASUN) extends the win streak to three. Jacksonville (12-12, 5-8 ASUN) drops its third home game of the season in 10 contests.
A defensive struggle from the outset, the pair of teams combined for 25 points in the first ten minutes of play. Stetson built an early lead, but the ASUN in-state foe challenged the Hatters and would close the gap when an advantage was built.
With JU gaining a three-point lead late in the first half, 19-16 with 7:21 left, the Hatters connected on back-to-back-to-back threes,
Jalen Blackmon then Alec Olgesby with
Stephan Swenson capping the 9-0 run. The Dolphins chipped the advantage down to five, 27-22, to end the first 20 minutes.
SU kept the home side at arm's length, maintaining a two-possession or bigger advantage throughout almost the entirety of the second half, with the lead growing to as many as 15, 52-37 after
Luke Brown connected with an unmarked
Aubin Gateretse for a fastbreak dunk with 7:28 left in the contest, but the home side did not battled back.
With 63 seconds left, JU made run. First Jordan Davis cut it down to 10, 63-53 off a jump shot. Jarius Cook followed up that with a three to make it 63-56 Hatters.
Luke Brown knocked down a pair of free throws to give Stetson some breathing room, but Davis hit a three on the other end to bring the game to a six-point difference, 65-59. The Hatters continued to make free throws, but JU's offense chipped away the deficit, eventually to a single point, 68-67 after another three from Davis. Forced to foul,
Luke Brown calmly sank a pair of free throws putting Stetson up three and out of danger of losing to a last second heave, but it was all for not as Kevion Nolan missed the half-court shot as Stetson picked up a vital road win.
Swenson paced the Hatters with 16 points, two steals and a game-high seven assists. Blackmon [13], and off two free throw makes in the final seconds, Brown [10] joined him in double figures.
Mahamadou Diawara collected six boards as a team high in a rebound by committee game; every Hatter that got on the court recorded a rebound.
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).
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