Jan. 4, 2007
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - The first-place Belmont Bruins jumped out to an early led and keep Kennesaw State at a distance the remainder of the game as the Owls fell to Belmont, 63-45, on Thursday evening at the KSU Convocation Center on Thursday evening.
The loss snapped the Owls (5-11, 1-3 A-Sun) two-game winning streak and kept the Bruins perfect as they stand atop the Atlantic sun Conference.
After leading by just five points going into the second half, Andrew Preston (7-for-8) scored on a layup and a dunk for the first two baskets of the second half and Boomer Herndon (11-for-12) followed with a muscled layup in the paint as the Bruins (10-5, 4-0 A-Sun) pulled away from the Owls early in the second half.
Herndon, who last year clawed through the Owls like a ravenous raptor for 27 points and 16 rebounds, again wreaked havoc in the paint. The hulking center scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in just 18 minutes.
The Owls, who missed all 11 three-pointers in the second half, couldn't get closer than nine points in the second half as Belmont carried a double-digit lead for the better part of the second half.
The first half saw the Owls trailing throughout even though dominating the offensive boards by a 2-to-1 margin. Belmont out shot KSU, hitting on 52 percent from the field compared to just 31 percent for the Owls.
Trailing by 11 points (30-19) nearing the end of the first half, the Owls used a 6-0 run to end the half. Shuan Stegall (1-for-10) hit a pair of free-throws, Brent Ragsdale (5-for-10) hit a short runner and Golden Ingle (2-for-10) ended the rally with a short jumper as Kennesaw State cut the margin to five points, their smallest deficit since trailing 22-17 with 6:06 left in the first stanza.
Herndon led all scorers while Preston added 15 points for the Bruins. Ragsdale led the Owls with 11 points while Ronell Wooten added 10 points for Kennesaw State.
Kennesaw State, who committed only 10 turnovers and out rebounded Belmont 41-36 including a 27-8 advantage on the offensive boards, were victimized by poor shooting. KSU made just 1 of 22 three-pointers in the game and shot just 26 percent as compared to 56 percent from Belmont.
The Owls will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Campbell for a 1:00 p.m. tip-off against the Camels.
