Stetson leads wire-to-wire, puts away Queens

 

Point guard Stephan Swenson was Stetson's second-leading scorer in Friday's in.  (Photo:  Stetson Athletics)

CHARLOTTE – Many people look forward to Fridays as the end of their work week. Friday night, Stetson decided to put in some overtime.

The Hatters landed four scorers in double figures and led from wire to wire, brushing off numerous challenges from Queens in an 84-66 victory inside Curry Arena.

“Any road win is very difficult in conference play,” Stetson coach Donnie Jones said. “I really thought it was a great team effort tonight. To be able to perform like we did, I’m really proud of our effort.”

Stetson (11-7, 3-1 ASUN) started strong off the opening tip. The Hatters quickly raced out to a 14-2 advantage behind seven early points from Stephan Swenson.  Queens (7-11, 1-2 ASUN) got buckets from Deyton Albury, Jacobi Sebock, and AJ McKee to slice the deficit to six. Just as quickly, though, the visitors countered.

Treyton Thompson converted a layup followed by an and-one from Cyncier Harrison that returned the advantage to 11 in under a minute. Queens continued to ever-so-slowly whittle away the Stetson margin, creeping to within two on back-to-back Albury buckets with just under six minutes remaining in the first half. The Hatters responded with a three from Swenson and ran the lead back out to eight at the interval.

Stetson again stretched its lead to double figures on consecutive buckets to start the second stanza. Queens again responded, reducing the difference to six at 48-42 on buckets from B.J. McLaurin and McKee. That would be the final true threat the Royals would mount, however. Stetson unfurled an 19-4 run that would swell its lead to 21 with 8:56 remaining and largely put away the proceedings.

The visiting Hatters scored 10 second-half points off Queens miscues and doubled up the Royals, 8-4, on second-chance points in the period. The Royals were limited to just 29 total rebounds and seven offensive boards, while Stetson and Queens finished level at 42 points apiece in the paint.

“I thought we had a very uninspired effort on the glass,” Queens coach Grant Leonard said in assessing his team’s performance. “This is a team that we should have been able to outrebound. It seemed like every time we were trying to get a run together, we gave up an offensive rebound that led to either a three or a layup. I think it started with our rebounding.”

“On both sides of the ball, there was a lot of hesitation, which is not what we were about.”

Stetson employed a zone defense for much of the game, which flummoxed Queens for extended stretches. The Hatters compelled 14 turnovers, which led to 18 points. Queens saw a number of pass attempts go awry, either off a player’s hands or sailing untouched out of bounds.

“It was more the zone, “Leonard said. “We had guys that weren’t ready with their hands and feet. We haven’t seen a lot of zone this year. We prepared for it. We prepared for it the last week and a half. I’m not really sure why we hesitated, but we never really got the ball moving or popping at all.”

The Royals logged just 12 assists on 27 made baskets.

The home side fell to 1-2 in ASUN play just two days after an emotional victory against FGCU to kick off the home league slate. Leonard offered a frank message to his team after the game.

“Our standard – it’s one of our sayings, OSIOS, Our Standard is Our Standard – I did not think we met our standard as a team today,” Leonard said. “It starts with me as the head coach. I think Coach Jones and the Stetson team put together a better game plan.”

“As a team, we need to play exceptionally harder. I don’t think you can always say you’re playing harder than the other team, but I don’t think we should be consistently getting outrebounded and I don’t think our effort was there tonight.”

Jalen Blackmon guided the Hatters with 19 points on 8-for-18 shooting and three made threes. Swenson and Thompson added 16 each, with Thompson hitting 6-of-7 tries from the field. Josh Smith turned in a double-double in his return to the Stetson lineup, tallying 10 points and snaring 10 caroms. The Hatters shot 50.8 percent (32-for-63) on the night and 56.7 percent (17-for-30) in the closing 20.

McKee led Queens and all players with 22, knocking down 9-of-17 from the deck and hitting three free throws. Albury logged 14 and pulled in seven boards while dishing four dimes. Sebock added 10, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor. The Royals finished at 47.4 percent (27-for-57) on the night, with 13-of-26 (50 percent) finding the net in the second half. Queens scored 42 points in the paint, but could manage just 11 tries from the charity stripe.

The teams next hit the floor in Florida. Stetson hosts Chicago State in a non-league tilt Monday night at the J. Ollie Edmunds Center in DeLand, Fla. Tip time is set for 7:00 (Eastern), with streaming over ESPN+. Queens ventures to Swisher Gym in Jacksonville to square off with the Jacksonville University Dolphins Thursday night. Tip time is set for 7:00, with ESPN+ providing the streaming coverage.

STETSON 84, QUEENS 66

STETSON (11-7, 3-1 ASUN)

Smith 4-7 1-1 10, Oglesby 2-3 2-2 8, Blackmon 8-18 0-0 19, Gateretse 4-7 0-0 8, Thompson 6-7 3-8 16, Gross 0-0 0-0 0, Doyle 0-2 2-2 2, Harrison 1-3 3-3 5, Kanno 0-0 0-0 0, Valdez 0-1 0-0 0, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-63 11-16 84.

QUEENS (7-11, 1-2)

McLaurin 2-6 0-0 4, Pollard 2-4 0-0 6, McKee 9-17 3-3 22, Cash 2-5 0-2 4, Albury 7-13 0-0 14, Ashby 0-3 2-2 2, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2, Sebock 4-6 1-2 10, Mathews 0-0 0-0 0, Threatt 0-1 0-0 0, George 0-0 2-2 2, Krawczyk 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 27-57 8-11 66.

Halftime:  Stetson 40-34. 3-Point goals:  FGCU 8-22 (Smith 1-2, Oglesby 2-3, Blackmon 3-8, Swenson 2-6, Thompson 1-2, Doyle 0-1), Queens 4-18 (Pollard 2-3, McKee 1-8, Albury 0-1, Ashby 0-3, Sebock 1-2, Threatt 0-1). Fouled out:  None. Rebounds:  Stetson 34 (Smith 10), Queens 29 (Cash/Albury 7). Queens 14 (McKee 3), Stetson 12 (Swenson 5). Total fouls:  Stetson 13, Queens 13. Technicals:  NA.

Points off turnovers:  Stetson 18, Queens 13.  Points in the paint:  Stetson 42, Queens 42.  Second-chance points:  Stetson 13, Queens 9.  Fast-break points:  Queens 19, Stetson 6.  Bench points:  Stetson 23, Queens 16.