Perry’s late FTs helps Stetson hold off FGCU 65-62

FOR MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Rob Perry scored 24 points and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the foul line, including a pair of insurance free throws with 9.8 seconds on the clock as Stetson held off Florida Gulf Coast 65-62 on Thursday night.

Mahamadou Diawara added 14 points for Stetson (13-12, 7-3 Atlantic Sun Conference). The Hatters notched their ninth victory this season by less than five points and won in Fort Myers for the first time since 2012.

Zach Scott scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Eagles (7-18, 4-6) but was 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. Jalen Warren added 14 points and Caleb Catto 13.

Catto, who scored 11 of his 13 after halftime knocked down a pair of 3-pointers late as FGCU cut an eight-point lead down to a single point. Catto’s trey made it 62-59 and Warren followed with a wide-open 3 from the left side to make it 63-62 with 31 seconds left.

Stetson faces North Alabama at home next Thursday. Florida Gulf Coast faces North Florida at home on Saturday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com