Atlantic Sun Notebook
by Kristy Shonka
Stetson Turns Tables on Belmont
The Stetson Hatters proved Saturday that a team’s record doesn’t mean as much as the final score. The Belmont Bruins were the unhappy recipients of that lesson as they lost at home to Stetson 85-80.
The Hatters went into the game with just two Atlantic Sun wins, compared to eight losses. The Bruins went into the game with just two A-Sun losses and eight wins, and they held the top spot in the conference’s North Division. Belmont still holds the top spot, but fell to 2-3 at home in conference play.
The Hatters trailed only once in the game after Belmont’s Adam Mark hit the first bucket of the contest. Stetson went into the locker room at halftime up 45-37. After the break, Belmont’s sharp-shooting Steven Drabyn hit two 3-pointers during a 12-4 run and the Bruins closed the gap to 53-51 with 15:11 left in the game.
The Hatters pulled away for their largest lead of the game with 5:02 left when Anthony Register hit a free throw to put Stetson up 76-63. But the Bruins weren’t ready to give up just yet. Jese Snyder capped off a 15-3 run with a steal and layup, and the Bruins trailed by just one with 57 seconds left.
Stetson maintained its composure and a Ravii Givens floater put the Hatters up three. After Drabyn missed a three from the corner, the Hatters hit all four of their free throws to close out the game.
The upset marked the first time since Gardner-Webb’s upset of Samford on Jan. 11 that a lower-echelon team has beaten an upper-echelon team in conference play.
Troy State Maintains Dominance
The Trojans picked up home wins over Georgia State and Jacksonville State last week, extending their winning streak to seven games. The Trojans’ 19-4 overall record and 10-1 conference record are best in the A-Sun, and collegeinsider.com has the Trojans ranked 10th in its mid-major poll.
Troy State’s wins over North Division opponents were convincing as the Trojans beat Georgia State, 99-81, and handed the Gamecocks a 71-51 beating. Jacksonville State put up a fight in the first half of Saturday’s game, taking a 29-23 halftime lead, but the second half was a different story.
The Trojans opened the period with 14 unanswered points and their defense held the Gamecocks scoreless until JSU’s Omar Barlett hit a layup with 11:32 left in the game.
Georgia State, on the other hand, never had a chance in the Thursday night match-up. The Trojans shot a lights-out 51 percent from the field and 48 percent from behind the arc, hitting 14 three-pointers in the game. TSU led 48-35 at the half, and extended its lead by as many as 30 during the game. Greg Davis missed just one shot for the Trojans, and was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range for 19 points.
The only A-Sun loss for Troy State came Jan. 11 at home against UCF. The Trojans will get a chance to avenge that loss Feb. 20 in Orlando, where the Knights are currently 5-1 in A-Sun play.
If The Tournament Started Today…
Most teams have only five A-Sun games remaining before the conference tournament. If the tourney were to start today Troy State (19-4, 10-1) would hold the top seed. Belmont (13-10, 8-3) would be the No. 2 seed by virtue of winning the North Division, despite having the fourth-best record in the conference.
Mercer (15-5, 9-2) would take the third seed because it beat UCF (17-7, 9-2) earlier in the season and Samford (10-12, 6-5) would be fourth as the runner up in the North. The last four teams to make it are seeded by A-Sun winning percentages regardless of their division. The Knights would be fifth, while Jacksonville (10-12, 5-5) holds the tiebreaker over Georgia State (10-11, 5-5) for the sixth seed. Jacksonville State (13-9, 5-6) would be the final team to make the tournament, meaning the reigning champs Florida Atlantic (7-16, 3-8) wouldn’t make the cut for a chance to defend its title.
The real tournament will take place March 6-8 in Atlanta with Georgia State as the host.
South Proves To Be Toughest Division
While four teams still have cross division games left to play, the A-Sun South has proven it’s the toughest of the two divisions, with its teams compiling a 24-10 record over its northern counterparts. The South’s Troy State was the only team to remain perfect against the other division, and the North’s Campbell and Gardner-Webb failed to pick up a win in the crossover.
Mercer and UCF both went 5-1, while Belmont had the North’s best record at 4-2. Stetson made the most of its opportunity against the North, as the Hatters earned all three of their A-Sun wins over northern teams.
Games of the Week
As far as standings go, it doesn’t get more important than Saturday’s game between Troy State and Mercer. The Trojans lead the Bears and UCF by one game and a Mercer win could create a three-way tie for first place in the South Division. If UCF sweeps Jacksonville and Stetson on the road, the Knights would have a chance at a half-game lead on both TSU and Mercer if the Bears upset the Trojans.
It’s also the Bears’ homecoming game, upping the stakes even more. The Trojans won the first game between these two teams, 89-61, back on Jan. 17 in Alabama.
UCF travels to Jacksonville on Thursday to face a Dolphins team that lost games last week to Belmont and Samford by a combined 59 points. The preseason South Division favorites lost to the Knights 72-48 in Orlando on Jan. 20. The Knights travel to DeLand to face the Hatters on Saturday. UCF won the earlier match-up 82-70 in a turnover-ridden game.
To keep its top standing in the North, Belmont will hit the road where the Bruins are undefeated. Belmont travels to Atlanta for a showdown with Georgia State on Thursday and goes on to Alabama to play Jacksonville State on Saturday.
