Stetson Holds Off Men's Basketball, 71-61

Tuesday, November 21

Daytona Beach, Fla./Ocean Center

Noon

Central Michigan University

Stetson

CMU Men's Basketball vs Louisiana-Monroe

Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography

11/21/2023 4:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Brian Taylor leads Chippewas for second straight game with 21 points and 10 rebounds, Markus Harding finishes with 17; Next up for CMU is at Ohio State on Nov. 29.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.—Stetson outscored Central Michigan 15-2 over the final five minutes of the first half, then held off a Chippewas rally in the second half to notch a 71-61 men's basketball victory Tuesday afternoon at the Ocean Center. With the win, Stetson captured the Ocean Bracket of the Sunshine Slam with its second straight victory.

The loss snapped Central Michigan's two-game win streak and dropped the Chippewas to 2-4 on the young season. Stetson improved to 3-2.

Led by three double figure scorers—Jalen Blackmon's 20, Stephan Swenson's 18, and Alec Oglesby's 14—Stetson shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the floor and converted nine of its 24 3-point attempts. The Hatters shot 60 percent in the first half (15-25) when they built their advantage.

Central Michigan was led by Brian Taylor, who scored a game and season-high tying 21 points to go along with a game-high 10 rebounds, his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career. Taylor hit nine of 17 field goals and 2-8 3-pointers. Forward Markus Harding finished the day with a season-high 17 points on 8-10 shooting with eight rebounds.

The Chippewas took care of the basketball, assisting on 12 of 24 field goals and turning the ball over a season-low six times.

With the score tied at 20-20, Stetson went on its run right before halftime. Swenson gave Stetson the lead with two free throws, Oglesby scored on a fast break layup after a CMU turnover, and Swenson followed with a step back jumper in the paint for a 28-22 lead with 4:16 to play. After CMU's Anthony Pritchard scored on a layup, Stetson scored the half's final nine points as Blackmon responded with a 3-pointer, Treyton Thompson hit a layup, Blackmon scored on a jumper, and Swenson hit two free throws. That gave Stetson a commanding 37-24 halftime lead.

Central Michigan battled back into the game early in the second half. Trailing by 13 points (37-24), CMU opened the second half on a 9-0 run and a Taylor 3-pointer cut the deficit down to four points, 37-33, with 17:38 to play. Later, CMU used a 6-0 run to cut Stetson's lead to four points (43-39) with 13:09 to play, but that was close as the Chippewas came to taking the lead. Oglesby and Blackmon responded with 3-pointers and the Hatters combined to hold off CMU with six 3-pointers in the second half.

Stetson extended its lead to as many as 18 points (66-48) with 3:32 to play on a Blackmon 3-pointer.

Next up, Central Michigan will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State on Wednesday, Nov. 29. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. for a Big Ten Network televised game.

—CMU—