Friday, February 10, 2006

Macon, Ga. – The Stetson men’s basketball team edged Mercer 73-72 to clinch a spot in the 2006 Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Friday night at the University Center.

The Hatters won for the fifth time in their last seven games to improve to 7-17 overall and 6-9 in the league. The Bears fell to 6-16 and 5-11.

“It was a nice game for us tonight and I am really proud of our guys,” said head coach Derek Waugh. “Our offensive execution was excellent especially in the first half.”

An E.J. Gordon (DeLand, Fla.) layup with just over a minute remaining in the game put Stetson ahead 73-69 and helped secure the one-point win. After Gordon’s basket, Mercer’s Andrew Brown drained a three-pointer at the other end of the court to cut the Hatters’ lead to one point.

After Mercer missed another three-point attempt with 10 seconds on the clock and Stetson failed to capitalize on a Bear foul by missing two free throws with six seconds left, both teams struggled for a lose ball at midcourt. The Hatters batted it away to hold on for the win.

Mercer worked to cut Stetson’s lead after halftime, knotting things up 52-52 at 12:33. The Bears would then enjoy their first lead of the evening, 56-54, with a jumper by Ross Alacqua at 11:02.

The game went through five more lead changes and two more ties during the final 11 minutes of play.