Dec. 23, 2006
Box Score
LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Kennesaw State came back from a first-half deficit but could not hang on as Longwood downed the Owls, 87-85, in an overtime thriller on Saturday night in the final round of the Findlay Las Vegas Holiday Classic.
KSU (3-8) trailed by one at halftime and came out of the break matching the Lancers (5-10) shot-for-shot early in the second stanza. Trailing 47-45 with 12:54 to go, the Owls put together a 10-0 run on the strength of great free throw shooting to take an eight-point lead with 8:24 left on the clock.
Longwood would not be denied however, as the Lancers slowly chipped away at the KSU lead, and with 2:04 remaining pulled with five at 68-63. A turnover from Brent Ragsdale followed, allowing LU to get even closer after Clayton Morgan converted a three-point play to bring the score to 68-66 with 1:11 to go.
KSU made three of its next four foul shots to take stretch the margin to five, but Longwood hung with the Owls, and trailing 73-71, the Lancers came down for a last ditch effort and forced overtime as Morgan hit a 14-foot jumper as the clock expired.
After Ragsdale hit the opening bucket of the extra period, Longwood put together a 10-0 run of its own to take an 83-75 lead with 2:04 left in overtime. Just like LU had done to them in regulation, the Owls cut into the lead with an Andre Morgan lay-up and two baskets from Ronell Wooten.
The Lancers next stepped to the free throw line trying to clinch the victory, but two missed freebies and a Shuan Stegall lay-up pulled the Owls with two at 87-85 with 5.4 seconds remaining. KSU then stole the ball and Wooten had a three-point chance at the buzzer just barely miss as Longwood escaped with the two-point win.
Wooten led the Owls with a season-high 25 points, 20 of which came after halftime. Stegall and Golden Ingle each added 16 points, while Ragsdale finished with 15.
KSU will now have a week off for the holidays before returning to the court to face Tennessee-Chattanooga in the UTC Invitational on Friday in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
