Dec. 18, 2007
Box Score
SAN MARCOS, Texas - In a wild affair that saw six ties and 14 lead changes in the second half and overtime, the Texas State Bobcats edged Kennesaw State, 82-78, at Strahan Coliseum on Tuesday evening.
After scoring seven points in the first half of the overtime period, the Owls could only manage a single free-throw over the final 2:38 as Kennesaw State (2-7) lost its second game of a six-game road trip.
In overtime, the game was tied at 75 after freshman Kelvin McConnell hit a pair of free-throws. Seconds later, Brandon Thomas (3-for-8) hit a jumper to give Texas State (5-5) the lead they wouldn't surrender.
The Owls had a chance to retake the lead, but Ronell Wooten (6-for-16), who scored a game-high 21 points, missed on a three-pointer with 1:43 left. KSU would still be in position to tie the game as the Bobcat's Ty Gough made one-of-two free-throws to keep it a one-possession game.
Time whittled down for Kennesaw State during their next possession. The Owls missed a pair of shots in a 54 second span before Jon-Michael Nickerson made one-of-two free throws with :24 seconds left to cut the TSU lead to 78-76.
KSU would get no closer as Brent Benson (0-for-3) hit a pair of free-throws, his only points of the night, giving the Bobcats a four-point lead and eventually snapping their three-game losing streak.
The final four minutes of regulation saw the Owls fight back to retake the lead, 63-62, when Tanner Jacobs hit a pair of free-throws with 3:57 remaining. A dunk by Gough gave the Bobcats a one-point lead before Shuan Stegall (12 points) answered with a lay-up to give the lead back to KSU with 2:35 left in the game.
Gough hit a pair of free-throws after a foul by Jacobs, but Wooten gave the lead back to the Black and Gold with a long-range bomb at the 1:40 mark. A costly turnover by Stegall, his tenth of the game, allowed Texas State's Corey Jefferson to tie the game on a lay-up with 1:19 left.
Kennesaw State started off slow, trailing by 10 points with just over 13 minutes left in the half. However, the Owls would blaze back on the heels of sizzling, three-point shooting by Wooten and Ryan Daugherty.
A free-throw by Stegall with 12:09 remaining sparked the rally and over the next four minutes the Owls outscored Texas State by a 12-2 margin. Wooten hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to six points and Daugherty drained the first of three-straight treys to make the score 20-17.
After a Cameron Johnson lay-up pushed the TSU lead to five points, Daugherty roared back with three-pointers on two consecutive possessions to give the Owls their first lead of the game, 23-22, with 8:14 left in the half.
Three ties and seven lead changes marked the final minutes of the first half. But, it was the Owls whose late surge, a 5-0 run capped by a three-pointer by McConnell and a jumper by Tanner Jacobs, gave KSU a, 38-35, lead at the break.
The Owls and the Bobcats each had four players score in double figures with Wooten leading the way with a game-high 21 points. Jacobs added 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting for KSU while Nickerson had a season-high 11 points.
Gough had a double-double for Texas State with 19 points and 13 rebounds and Brandon Bush dropped in 15 points on a 6-for-11 night from the field.
Kennesaw State will be back in action on Saturday afternoon, December 22, when they travel to Macomb, Ill. to battle play Western Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 eastern standard time.
