SIU-Edwardsville outlasts Stetson 80-76

DELAND, Fla. -- Daniel Kinchen scored 23 points and Jalen Henry finished with a double-double to help SIU-Edwardsville hold off Stetson 80-76 on Saturday.

Kinchen buried 7 of 13 shots from the floor, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range, and handed out five assists for the Cougars (1-2). Henry hit 7 of 12 from the field, 2 of 3 from long range, in scoring 20 points, and grabbed 13 rebounds, all on the defensive end. Henry also blocked two shots.

Divine Myles paced the Hatters (2-2) with 18 points, but he hit just 5 of 17 shots and missed all four of his 3-pointers. Angel Rivera made 13 of 15 free throws and scored 17 for Stetson, which shot just 34.4 percent (21 of 61) overall and 16.7 percent from long range (3 of 18).

Henry scored six and Kinchen hit back-to-back 3-pointers to propel the Cougars to an early 14-6 lead. Bill Awet's jumper gave SIU-Edwardsville a 43-33 lead, but the Cougars went scoreless over the final 2:20 and Stetson cut the halftime deficit to 43-39.

Stetson grabbed its first lead of the game at 62-61 on two free throws by Larry Dennis with 8:30 remaining. Divine buried a jumper for a 74-69 lead, but the Hatters went cold over the final 3:51. Stetson missed its final six shots from the floor and four straight free throws down the stretch to miss starting a season 3-1 for the first time since 2011-12.