Box Score The Hatters 44 point second half helped them to 2-0 in conference play as they sank the Dolphins 71-55 Saturday afternoon.

"I have much respect for Jacksonville as the game was very tough and physical," said Head Coach Donnie Jones. "We were able to make some shots, and get a late lead in the second half. I loved how our team is finding different ways to contribute all over the court." 

Stetson started the game off with a bang forcing a Jacksonville turnover on defense and having it lead to an Aubin Gateretse alley-oop finish from Jalen Blackmon. The teams would trade baskets and short runs as the Hatters held a 14-12 lead with ten minutes gone in the first half. Threes from Stephan Swenson and Alec Oglesby pushed the Hatters lead to nine with just over two minutes in the half. At the end of a low scoring half, Stetson led Jacksonville 27-24. 

"We wanted to start out strong during conference and thats what we've done," said Oglesby. "When you play with the best point guard in the country, it makes things easier. Steph was finding on a lot of plays so it made the game really easy for me to get open looks. In the first half we weren't really hitting on threes but we were able to pick it up on the defensive end. Josh Smith, Aubin and Trey were giving us great minutes. As a team we are one and we always pick up each other and thats the biggest thing. 
 
Coming out for the second half, the Hatters started to get hot. They exploded for a 16-3 run in the first seven and a half minutes. Swenson contributed seven points to the run including a three and a dunk off a steal where he flexed on the defender who tried to catch him from behind. Oglesby pitched in five during the run and Gateretse had the other four. One of Gateretse's buckets from the run was a dunk off a beautiful no look pass from a double-teamed Swenson.  The Hatters continued building on their lead. Blackmon grabbed a rebound and found a streaking Oglesby down the court who slammed it home making it 45-29. Stetson would once again build on its lead, with a 10-2 run getting contributions from Blackmon, Gateretse and Oglesby. An Oglesby three gave the Hatters a 28-point lead with 3:30 left in the game, making it 71-43. With the game in hand, Coach Jones rested his starters and role players with around two minutes left. Oglesby three was the last bucket for the Hatters as they won 71-55. 
 
Oglesby led the Hatters in scoring, netting 21 points on 7-13 shooting from the field and 5-8 from three while also hitting both of his free throws. Swenson had another solid shooting day, scoring 17 points while going 6-15 from the field and 3-5 from deep. Oglesby and Gateretse tied for the team lead in rebounds in 7 while Gateretse contributed 15 points and two blocks. 
 
As a team, Stetson shot 45.3% from the field and 42.3% from beyond the arc. The Hatters were able to capitalize on points from turnovers with 16 and second chance points with 12 that really helped them pull away from the Dolphins. Stetson recorded triple the amount of assists that Jacksonville had while also committing one less turnover. Winning the turnover battle has helped the Hatters get out to a great start in conference play.
 
Stetson and the Hatters will now head on the road to take on Kennesaw State. That game will be on Wednesday, Jan 10 at 2pm at the KSU Convocation Center.