Two Near-Misses

I guess three in a row is too much to ask.

Stetson had a look at its first major upset this weekend, while Mercer had #3 in its sights. Both teams had a shot at the buzzer, but both came up empty.

Apparently, somebody at Stetson is none to happy about the officiating of their game with Florida State. I'm not going to criticize a crew unless I watch the game (and even then, probably not), but the numbers are what they are. Stetson had 13 free throw attempts in the game. Florida State had 13 in the second half, after 21 in the first.

That said, the Hatters came from 16 down at halftime, making 61% of their 2's and 53% of their 3's in the second half, outscoring FSU by 20 over an 8-minute stretch. Stetson led by 7 with less than 9 minutes left, but then hit a dry spell, going 1 of 8 from the floor during a 6-minute, 16-3 Seminole run.

Stetson had a shot to tie late, pulling down a rebound with 9 seconds left down 2. But A.J. Smith's drive drew contact but no whistle and the clock ran out. Garfield Blair was the player of the night for Stetson, putting up 19 points and 7 boards.

Mercer also had a good look at an ACC upset this weekend, but fell to Georgia Tech in overtime. The current leaders of the RPI had a shot at the buzzer to win in regulation, but James Florence's jumper was tipped. Tech then jumped out to a quick 6-point lead in overtime and never looked back. E. J. Kuysner had a big night, burying 6 3-pointers on his way to 22 points and a PEG score of 18. Calvin Henry and James Florence each posted a PEG of 17, albeit in drastically different ways. Florence was his usual self, scoring 26 points on 24 shots and handing out 6 assists while committing 7 turnovers. Henry was quieter, but no less effective, posting 8 points and 8 boards on 3-3 shooting.