DELAND, Fla. – Stetson men's basketball showcased wire-to-wire offense as they defended home court by taking down Central Arkansas, 99-80, Saturday afternoon in the Edmunds Center.
 
Stetson (13-10, 8-4 ASUN) claimed sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings. UCA (8-17, 3-9 ASUN) splits the weekend away games after beating FGCU.
 
Both offenses were on point from the outset with a combined 20 points before the game's first media break, 12-8 Hats. While small leads would accumulate from both teams, Stetson started imposing its will after the game was tied at 16 by the Sugar Bears' Camren Hunter coming out of the under-12 media break. Mahamadou Diawara earned two points at the charity stripe with Alec Olgesby knocking down a three after Cyncier Harrison's pass set up the shot. After a defensive stop, Sam Peek added another bucket then Luke Brown stretched the advantage to 10, 26-16, when Diawara found him for an open three, which prompted a timeout from the visiting bench. The advantage swelled to 12, 30-18, before the visitors put together a run to bring the score to two possessions, 32-27 with 3:41 on the first-half clock. The Hatters closed the half on an 14-5 run with Josh Smith putting an exclamation point on the half with a dunk, 46-32 Hats.

"Today we played good and when we move the ball, we're really unstoppable," guard Sam Peek said "We have so many weapons and offensive players that can shoot the ball. Defensively we played good but may have faded a little bit but it was important to end strong because it transitions into next weekend. It's going to be big for us."

The Sugar Bears were reeling from the onslaught, but were not out of the game completely as they trailed Stetson by double figures, but fluctuating until the Hatter offense fired up another volley. The advantage swelled to 28 at the 10:11 mark as Wheza Panzo knocked down a three to give the home side 83 points [to 55]. Harrison equaled that lead about a minute later, but the visitors started chipping away at it but the Hatters refused to yield, taking a 19-point victory, 99-80.  

"Our bench is super important, we are something like 14th in the country in bench points. We know guys like Jalen [Blackmon], Steph [Swenson] and Josh [Smith] will step up but we need production from everybody. We're so deep this year, I think we can make a big run in the tournament. We have so many guys that can share the ball that anybody can get 25 on a given night. We need everybody."

"Alec Olgesby," redshirt freshman Cyncier Harrison said wanting to highlight the intangibles that don't show up in the stat sheet. "He does a lot for us defensively. He is a tough guy for us, taking charges and doing whatever we need him to do. He can also push the pace [offensively] too."

Four players were in double figures for points with Blackmon leading the way with 27. Smith joined him with a double-double, 16 points, 11 rebounds, the later being a game high. Stephan Swenson tallied 15 points and 12 of Stetson's 20 assists. Panzo scored 11 with 8 boards.

"I think we played a great game with everybody contributing offensively and defensively," Harrison continued, speaking about the overall performance "We did a great job getting everybody involved, took pride defensively getting stops against a great Central Arkansas team.'

The Hatters outrebounded UCA by 20, 42-22. The aforementioned 20 assists were on 37 made field goals with 13 turnovers. In what may be the stat of the day, the Hats have not scored 99 points in a regulation ASUN conference game since defeating Belmont 106-95 on December 16, 2001.
 
The Hatters remain in Florida, but now turn their attention North to the Dolphins and Ospreys. Stetson faces JU Thursday night at Swisher Gymnasium with a 7 p.m. tip, before a Saturday afternoon matchup with North Florida at UNF Arena. Both games will stream on ESPN+ and have links on the schedule page.
 
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.