Daytona Beach, Fla. – Stetson Men's Basketball fell to East Carolina 71-64, Friday afternoon. They will now take on La Salle to earn 7^th place in the Boardwalk Battle. 
 
The Hatters fell behind the Pirates early, but used a 9-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. Mehki Ellison helped spark the run, hitting two shots from beyond the arc. Ellison pushed the lead up to four a couple of possessions later giving Stetson the 20-16 advantage. East Carolina took the lead back from Stetson, but Jordan Wood tied the game at 27 on a jumper. The Pirates tried to pull away again but buckets from Treyton Thompson and Ellison tied the game back up at 31. East Carolina took the lead before half as the Hatters trailed 39-33. 
 
In the second half Stetson saw their deficit grow to nine points. The team responded though, going on a 7-0 run and bringing themselves within two before free throws by Abramo Canka tied the game at 55. The Pirates pulled back out by six but a layup from Ellison and a three-point shot from Wood brought the Hatters back to within one. Stetson was unable to score in the in the final two minutes falling 71-64. 
 
Ellison led the Hatters in scoring with 15 points followed by Canka with 14 and Wood with 12. Those three players combined shot 8-16 from beyond the arc. Josh Massey and Jamie Phillips Jr tied for the team lead in rebounds with five. 
 
Stetson will now matchup with La Salle on Saturday, November 22 to decide who finishes in 7^th place. That game will tip off at 11:00am at the Ocean Center.