Saturday, January 15, 2011

DeLand, Fla. - Freshman Luis Jacobo (Sanford, Fla.) scored a career-high 18 points and sophomore Ridge Graham (Stuart, Fla.) scored 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds to lead Stetson to a 79-72 win over Mercer Friday night in the Edmunds Center. It was the 5th double-double of the season and the 7th of his career for Graham. The victory raised the Hatters' record to 6-11 overall and 4-3 in Atlantic Sun Conference play, while the Bears fell to 4-13 and 1-5 on the season.

Victoria Australia natives Joel Naburgs and Graeme Radford also played exceptionally well for the home team. Naburgs tallied double-figures with 15 points including a 7-for-8 effort from the line, while Radford crashed the boards for a career-high 10 rebounds.

"I am really proud of the guys tonight", said Stetson head coach Derek Waugh. "I thought Graeme Radford, who hadn't played a lot recently was absolutely the difference in the game. He had some huge defensive looks and got some big offensive rebounds."

In addition to his rebounds Radford added five points and played a season-high 20 minutes for the Hatters. Six of his rebounds came at key moments coming down the stretch in the second half.

"It was a really good job by a senior on a team of freshmen and sophomores", he added.

As a team Stetson shot 26-of 49 (53.1 %) from the field, 5-for-13 (38.5%) from long range and 22-for-34 (64.7%) from the line. The Hatters outscored the Bears 28-12 in the paint, 25-15 off turnovers, 14-11 on 2nd chance points, 6-0 on fast break points, and finished with a 26-7 advantage in points scored by bench players.