Jan. 19, 2007
Box Score
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - The Kennesaw State men's basketball team rallied from an eight-point deficit late in the second half but could not hang on down the stretch as East Tennessee State downed the Owls, 78-66, in overtime on Friday night at the Memorial Center.
Trailing eight with 7:36 to go, KSU (8-13, 4-5 A-Sun) mounted its comeback, starting with a Shuan Stegall lay-up. After ETSU's (14-7, 8-1) Dequan Twilley hit a free throw, Stegall was once led the Owls, knocking down two freebies and two straight jumpers to pull KSU within one at 57-56.
Twilley once again knocked down the front end of a one-and-one and then Ronell Wooten gave the Owls a one point lead at 59-58 with 2:21 after rattling home a three-pointer. Courtney Pigram responded for the league-leading Bucs, hitting a three-ball of his own with :39 remaining.
Refusing to quit, Jon-Michael Nickerson cut through the lane and converted a contested lay-up to tie the game at 61-61 with 20 seconds to go. The Owls had a chance to win in regulation but Wooten missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, forcing overtime.
ETSU controlled overtime, scoring the first four points of the extra period. After an Andre Morgan lay-up cut the lead to 65-53 with 4:01 to go, the Owls went cold, missing their next nine shots from the field. Conversely, the Bucs converted 4-of-5 field goals and 9-of-12 free throws down the stretch to snap the Owls' three-game win streak.
Kennesaw State held a 33-28 lead heading into overtime, after Wooten scored 15 points, including three three-pointers. His third trey of the first half at 4:12 left gave the Owls their biggest lead of the night at 29-22. But KSU missed its final seven of eight shots in the final four minutes and went into the locker room with the slim five-point lead.
Wooten paced the Owls with his first double-double of the season 26 points and 10 rebounds. The Statesboro, Georgia native finished the game on 9-of-18 shooting and 5-of-13 from beyond the three-point arc. Stegall added 22 points to post his three straight game in double digits.
Brad Nuckles led ETSU, especially in overtime, as he finished with 18 points and 12 boards. He finished the game shooting 6-of-13 and had 10 defensive rebounds. Pigram chipped in 15 points for the Bucs, who won their sixth straight game.
The Owls will continue their three-game road swing when they travel to Nashville on Thursday to take on Lipscomb at 8:00 p.m. (EST)
