The Reporter

. ii «JI[i ""1 iin Jin I I 'II. miij l Thursday, February 28, 2013 Vol. CXX Issue 10 Men's basketball FGCU Sean McKnight Staff Contributor The Stetson men's basketball team beat Florida Gulf Coast University 80-71 in a decisive conference victory this past Friday. In the opening minutes of play, FGCU was in the lead. The Stetson squad countered with five points by senior Joel Naburgs and junior Willie Green to put Stetson in control of the game early on. At the 15:43 mark, the score was tied at 14. It was at this point that FGCU came out and began to score, taking the lead all throughout the rest of the first half. Although FGCU may have been in lead the last 14-plus minutes of the first half, the Stetson men were never behind by more than six points the entire half. At the end of the first half, FGCU was up by a score of 36-34. Once the 2nd half was underway, the home team began to open the flood gates and dominated the first 12 minutes of the half on the back of Stetson's top scorers Green and Naburgs. At one point, Stetson was leading 55-44. It wasn't until the 8:02 mark that the lead changed in favor of FGCU. #3 Willie Gree 80-71 #23 Chris Perez FGCU, after being down for so long, went on the attack and soon took advantage of the game 67-63 at the 4:45 mark. FGCU was in the lead until the 2:48 mark where, after big plays by junior Hunter Miller and Senior Adam Pegg, Stetson took the lead 71-69. With 2:16 left, FGCU tied the game for the final time at 71. It was at this pivotal moment that Stetson went on to score 9 unanswered points and secured their 80-71 victory over Florida Gulf Coast. This game was extremely impor tant for both teams. A win means a better seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament. Although Stetson sits in third (10-6 in conference games) under FGCU (11-5 in conference games), this game showed that Stetson can and will beat FGCU. This season Stetson men's basketball team and Florida Gulf Coast University make Sports Center's top 10 plays of the week, and never for the right reasons. Back on Jan. 25, FGCU made Sports Center's top 10 for a massive dunk that really portrayed how one nlliams sided that game was; FGCU ended up winning by 31. On Feb. 22, number 12 Eric McKnight for FGCU made a massive dunk that again warranted Sports Center's top 10 list. The difference between both games was who came out victorious. Special mention to Joel Naburgs for breaking the record for most three-pointers scored in a career at Stetson University with 171 career three-pointers. #23 Chris Perez Tampa Bay Rays player gives Shooting Club $5,000 Check Lauren Cepero News Editor A $5,000 check was donated to the Stetson's Shooting Club endowment fund by Luke Scott, a Major League Baseball player for the Tampa Bay Rays. Originally from De Leon Springs, Scott attended Oklahoma State and made his MLB debut in 2005. He currently acts as the designated hitter for the Rays. According to Shooting Club President, Ryan Stanford, Dr. Richard Libby was able to schedule a dinner with Scott when he visited Stetson in November of last year. Dr. Wendy Libby, Dr. Richard Libby, Luke Scott, Terry Williams, University Trustee Richard George and Ryan Stanford all gathered at the Presidents House and discussed, "The evolution of the club, the importance of continued education for firearms, shared different experiences around the sport, and our purpose and goals of the endowment," Stanford said. Currently, the Shooting Club must apply for grants to fund the various costs of running the club and participating in events. In five years, the Shooting Club hopes to have reached their financial goal of $100,000 for the endowment fund, according to Stanford. "The endowment fund will become a financial platform for our club, generating roughly enough Left to right: Ryan Stanford, Luke Scott, Taylor Barfield, Photos courtesy: Joe Flanagan, Ashley Mullen, Reba LaRose, Roman Joel Jones, Stetson Petty, Michael Marco, Richard Libby Marketing money in interest to cover operational costs of the club," Stanford said. After the majority of the Shooting Club's members graduated, it began the 2012-2013 school year with only four members. The club has now grown to have 18 active members. The club practices weekly at the Volusia County Skeet and Trap Club. The Shooting Club members compete in 1-2 shooting competitions in the fall and spring seasons. They plan will to host their own "home shoot" at the Volusia County Skeet and Trap Club this spring. The club still hopes to get Scott out onto the shooting range. "We invited him out to shoot with us, how ever as a MLB player he has a very busy and rigorous schedule, but we will remain in touch and hopefully get him out one the range with us," Stanford said.