Stetson 69, Florida Gulf Coast 66

2/23/2008 7:48 PM

DELAND, Fla. (AP) -Kris Thomas scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half and A.J. Smith scored seven of his 10 points in overtime to lead Stetson to a 69-66 victory against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday night.

Thomas made all seven shots from the floor, including four 3-pointers, to pace Stetson, which also got 11 points from Sheldon Oliver and 10 points from Eric Diaz.

Stetson (14-15 overall, 9-5 in the Atlantic Sun Conference) led 40-22 at halftime. Florida Gulf Coast (9-19, 5-9) rallied back in the second half, however.

Casey Wohlleb scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half. Wohlleb's 3-pointer with 31 seconds left in regulation tied the game at 60 and forced overtime.

Chad Lutkenhaus put Florida Gulf Coast ahead 62-60 with two free throws 16 seconds into OT. Smith knotted it at 62 with two charity tosses 29 seconds later and on Stetson's next possession he put the Hatters on top with a runner at 3:34.

Diaz took a charge to get the ball back to Stetson. Although Smith missed a pull-up jumper, Diaz was there for the tip-in at 2:56 for a 66-62 advantage.

Terike Barrowes, who had 16 points, got Florida Gulf Coast back within two points, 66-64, on a putback with 2:10 to play. Smith made the first of two free throws with 36.2 seconds left in OT to make it 67-64. Delvin Franklin missed a shot for Florida Gulf Coast and Mark Lohuis grabbed the long rebound.

Lohuis made a long pass to Smith for a dunk with 8.8 seconds left that effectively sealed the win. Rob Quaintance capped his 12-point effort with a layup with 2 seconds left.