Matt Grahoben Coaching Career

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December 26, 2017

Stetson (5-8) 63
West Virginia (7-3) 85

Although Stetson lost its final nonconference game by 22 points, it could have been much worse. The Hatters fell behind 30-9 by the middle of the first half, but didn't let the deficit get much worse during the rest of the game. Stetson now enters conference play on a 5 game losing streak, and needs to get back on track next week against Jacksonville.

Notable Performances:
Shawn Bradford 5-7 FG, 12 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist
Chad Medley 3-4 FG, 9 Points, 1 Rebound, 1 Assist

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Nonconference Review

Nonconference Record (RPI)
NJIT 8-5 (157)
USC Upstate 6-8 (188)
Lipscomb 6-7 (215)
Kennesaw State 3-10 (242)
Jacksonville 5-8 (274)
Stetson 5-8 (276)
Florida Gulf Coast 5-8 (293)
North Florida 2-11 (306)

As expected, the Atlantic Sun is one of the weakest conferences in all of college basketball, and will certainly be a one bid league on Selection Sunday. NJIT surprisingly leads the conference with 8 wins, although has struggled since beginning the season with a 7-1 start. The conference's best wins include FGCU's victory over UNLV (ranked #22 at the time), Jacksonville beating BYU and Minnesota, and NJIT's win over Vanderbilt.

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Nonconference Stats



For some reason PPG got cut off:
Bradford 12.5
Willis 8.6
Adams 8.0
Chapman 6.9
Hathaway 6.6
Henry 6.2
Hightower 5.0
Medley 3.8
Mason 3.0
Craig 2.7
Grays 2.7
Stapleton 2.6
Walcutt 0.4

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January 2, 2018

Stetson (6-8, 1-0) 74
Jacksonville (5-9, 0-1) 72 OT

Atlantic Sun conference play started with a bang, as the Stetson Hatters went to Jacksonville to open the second part of the season and won in overtime. The thrilling game contained 24 lead changes, and a 9 point comeback by Stetson in the final 7 minutes of regulation. Erik Henry redeemed himself for his missed free throws against New Hampshire, as the freshman went 8-8 from the line to help close out the win.

Notable Performances:
Marque Mason 3-4 FG, 9 Points, 2 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 4 Steals
Terrence Adams 6-10 FG, 15 Points, 1 Rebound, 2 Assists
Erik Henry 2-5 FG, 12 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Shawn Bradford 1-5 FG, 11 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assist
John Grays 4-4 FG, 11 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists

A-Sun Scores:
Florida Gulf Coast (0-1) 44
NJIT (1-0) 60

North Florida (0-1) 61
USC Upstate (1-0) 78

Kennesaw State (0-1) 52
Lipscomb (1-0) 69

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January 5, 2018

Lipscomb (7-8, 1-1) 53
Stetson (7-8, 2-0) 65

Last season as a freshman, John Grays did not even appear in a single game. This year, he has been an important role player off the bench, and against Lipscomb he shined with a career high 20 points. Although both Tyrus Hathaway and Shawn Bradford fouled out, the combination of Grays, Ward Chapman, and Rodney Craig were able to play well enough in the post to help the Hatters win. Next week, Stetson takes on USC Upstate, in a meeting between the only two undefeated teams in Atlantic Sun conference play.

Notable Performances:
John Grays 8-13 FG, 20 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist
Erik Henry 5-9 FG, 15 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist

Atlantic Sun Scores:

NJIT (1-1) 51
North Florida (1-1) 73

USC Upstate (2-0) 66
Kennesaw State (0-2) 64

Jacksonville (0-2) 61
Florida Gulf Coast (1-1) 77

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December 9, 2018

Stetson (7-9, 2-1) 56
South Carolina Upstate (9-8, 3-0) 61

Although the Hatters lost, they certainly made the end of the game interesting. Trailing by 15 with 5 minutes to go, Stetson went on a big run to cut USC Upstate's lead to a single possession. Unfortunately, the Hatters came up short, but a 5 point loss against the A-Sun's first place team is still encouraging.

Notable Performances:
Ward Chapman 5-8 FG, 14 Points, 5 Rebounds
Terrence Adams 5-10 FG, 13 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Assist
Donte Hightower 2-6 FG, 6 Points, 1 Rebound, 4 Assists

Atlantic Sun Scores

Kennesaw State (0-3) 78
NJIT (2-1) 81

Florida Gulf Coast (2-1) 65
North Florida (1-2) 51

Jacksonville (1-2) 73
Lipscomb (1-2) 64

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January 12, 2018

NJIT (10-7, 2-2) 66
Stetson (8-9, 3-1) 71

Center Shawn Bradford ended his cold stretch against NJIT, as the sophomore big man led Stetson with 15 points. Four starters scored in double figures for the Hatters, as a team effort was required to defeat the New Jersey Tech Highlanders.

Notable Performances:
Shawn Bradford 5-10 FG, 15 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists
Terrence Adams 5-12 FG, 14 Points, 6 Rebounds, 1 Assist
Jason Willis 4-5 FG, 11 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Erik Henry 3-8 FG, 12 Points, 1 Rebound, 1 Assist
Ward Chapman 3-4 FG, 8 Points, 6 Rebounds

Atlantic Sun Scores

North Florida (1-3) 61
Kennesaw State (1-3) 79

Lipscomb (1-3) 66
Florida Gulf Coast (3-1) 73

USC Upstate (3-1) 56
Jacksonville (2-2) 67

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January 16, 2018

Stetson (9-9, 4-1) 72
North Florida (3-15, 1-4) 71

Playing against one of the worst teams in the Atlantic Sun, perhaps Stetson thought they would have an easy win against the North Florida Ospreys. That wasn't the case, as the Hatters barely eked out a 1 point win. Stetson led by 13 at one point in the first half, but a long scoring drought allowed the home Ospreys to take the lead by halftime. The Hatters trailed most of the second half, but Terrence Adams made a layup with 9 seconds left to secure the win. Adams has now scored in double figures in 6 of the last 7 games, and has been a large part of Stetson's recent success.

Notable Performances:
Terrence Adams 6-10 FG, 18 Points, 2 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Erik Henry 4-6 FG, 10 Points, 2 Rebounds, 6 Assists
Shawn Bradford 4-10 FG, 12 Points, 5 Rebounds
Jason Willis 3-7 FG, 10 Points, 1 Rebound, 2 Assists

Atlantic Sun Scores:

Kennesaw State (1-4) 49
Florida Gulf Coast (4-1) 64

Lipscomb (1-4) 50
USC Upstate (4-1) 71

Jacksonville (2-3) 57
NJIT (3-2) 73

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January 19, 2018

Kennesaw State (4-15, 1-5) 66
Stetson (10-9, 5-1) 82

Stetson probably had its best offensive performance of the season against Kennesaw State, scoring 82 points by making 12 threes and shooting 53% from the field. Foul trouble derailed the Hatters in the first half, but it was no problem, as the team received double figure scoring from three reserves.

Notable Performances:
Chad Medley 6-9 FG, 17 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists
Ward Chapman 6-8 FG, 14 Points, 1 Assist
John Grays 5-6 FG, 11 Points, 1 Assist
Terrence Adams 3-8 FG, 10 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Assists

Atlantic Sun Scores:

North Florida (1-5) 56
Jacksonville (3-3) 67

NJIT (4-2) 67
Lipscomb (1-5) 43

Florida Gulf Coast (4-2) 50
USC Upstate (5-1) 71

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January 23, 2018

Stetson (10-10, 5-2) 66
Florida Gulf Coast (10-10, 5-2) 67

After the conclusion of this game between two of the top teams in the Atlantic Sun, it seems likely that their rematch on the final day of the season will be another close match. Stetson and Florida Gulf Coast went back and forth for most of the game until the Eagles took a 10 point lead with about 6 minutes to go. Clutch shooting got the Hatters back in the game, but FGCU made just enough free throws to close out the win.

Notable Performances:
Erik Henry 5-12 FG, 14 Points, 2 Rebounds, 4 Assists
Tyrus Hathaway 3-4 FG, 7 Points, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists
Ward Chapman 3-5 FG, 9 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Assist

Atlantic Sun Scores:

Jacksonville (3-4) 54
Kennesaw State (2-5) 63

USC Upstate (5-2) 55
NJIT (5-2) 59

Lipscomb (1-6) 66
North Florida (2-5) 79