The Hatters overcame a first half deficit to force overtime. They then exploded for an 11-2 run while playing suffocating defense in overtime to win 73-62.
"It was a great team effort," said Head Coach
Donnie Jones. "We had big stops and great offensive execution down the stretch.
Stephan Swenson started the scoring by draining a three to give the Hatters a lead. Stetson quickly found themselves in a hole down 3-11. After Coach Jones called timeout, the Hatters stormed back on an 8-0 run taking a 12-11 lead.
Jalen Blackmon scored four on that run with
Alec Oglesby and Swenson each getting two. The Bears took the lead back going up 12-15 but Oglesby hit a jump shot to gut the deficit to one. Central Arkansas took a 16-27 lead, but the Hatters stopped their run when a steal from Blackmon led to a three from
Treyton Thompson to make it 19-27. Stetson went into halftime trailing 22-31.
The Hatters came out of halftime with a chip on their shoulders breaking out on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 33.
Aubin Gateretse and
Josh Smith put in the work in the paint combining for that 11. The Bears retook the lead, and the Hatters tied it back up at 35 as Swenson forced a turnover and found Blackmon who hit a jumper. The two teams traded the lead back and forth and tied it back up at 42. The Bears then hit a three however Thompson scored five straight shots including his second made three of the game to swing the momentum back to the Hatters. Oglesby and Smith hit back-to-back layups to push the Hatters to a 51-47 lead. On the defensive end Thompson blocked a layup and that defensive presence cashed in on the offensive end with a Blackmon jumper making it 53-47. Swenson then forced a steal and Blackmon cashed in from three this time making it 56-47. Central Arkansas started chipping away and Swenson pulled up like he was going to shoot but instead throwing it up for Gateretse to slam it home making it 58-51. Back-to-back threes brought the Bears to within one. The Hatters got the ball into the hands of Blackmon who drove the lane drawing a foul and going to the line. He hit his first but missed his second which would have made it a three-point game. The defense stands tall, and Swenson grabs the rebound before getting fouled. Swenson also goes 1-2 from the free throw line making it a three-point game. Central Arkansas tied the game on a driving layup and getting a foul called. They converted the free throw and regulation ended with the teams knotted up at 60.
The Hatters won the tip in overtime and the ball immediately made its way to Blackmon who beat his defender and flipped it up and in for a two-point lead. Two strong defensive possessions later Blackmon hit a deep three to make it 65-60. With 48 seconds left in overtime, Blackmon converted on a driving layup to put the Hatters up seven putting the pressure on the Bears. Two more huge stops from the defense led to Blackmon and Swenson making four straight free throws pushing the lead to 11. Central Arkansas scored their only basket of overtime on their second to last possession and Swenson hit two more free throws to seal the 73-62 victory.
Blackmon led the game in scoring with 27 points, 11 of which came in overtime, while also grabbing four rebounds. Gateretse was the only other Hatter in double figures as he finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds, one short of what would have been his seventh double-double of the season. Smith tied for the team lead in rebounds with 9 while also scoring 9 points just missing out on a double-double as well.
Stetson shot 41.7% from the field, 30% from three and 70.8% from the free throw line. The two teams were locked in a defensive battle for most of the game as Stetson grabbed 48 rebounds while also tallying 5 blocks. The Hatters had the edge in both points in the paint, second chance points and points off turnovers to help them get the win.
The Hatters will head out to Louisville to take on Bellarmine to finish out the three-game road-trip. That game will be on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 6:30pm.
