Dec. 22, 2007
Box Score
MACOMB, Ill. - Shuan Stegall scored a team-high 14 points for the Owls, but Kennesaw State lost its third straight game, falling to Western Illinois, 66-54, on Saturday afternoon at Waste Management Court at Western Hall.
The Owls (2-8) again had another solid effort before coming up short on the road for the sixth time this season. Western Illinois (4-7) snapped their two-game losing streak.
After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half, Kennesaw State patiently chipped away at the Leathernecks lead in the second half. After trailing by double-digits for the final five minutes of the first half and the first five of the second half, a dunk by Jon-Michael Nickerson brought the Owls to within eight points, 47-39.
Kennesaw State cut the lead to five points, 53-48, before a mini run (5-0) by Western pushed the lead back to 10 points. The Owls made a final run as Stegall started and ended a, 6-0, rally to bring KSU to within four points, 58-54, with 3:39 left.
The Owls would go scoreless the rest of the way as they made five goals over the final 10 minutes of the game.
While Kennesaw State was once again tenacious on defense, causing 23 Western Illinois turnovers, a 38 percent shooting afternoon and 4-of-22 three pointers limited the Owls opportunity for their third win of the season.
KSU led by a small margin for most of the first eight minutes of the game and were within striking distance of the Leathernecks when Stegall hit a runner in the paint to pull the Black and Gold within four points of WIU, 20-16, with just over eight minutes left in the half. However, WIU went on an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to take a 31-16 lead.
Ronell Wooten scored 11 points for the Owls, including a trio of three-pointers, while Nickerson added 10 points and J.D. Pollock chipped in nine points. David Nurse scored a game-high 18 points and was one of four players to score in double figures for Western Illinois.
The Owls will be back in action on December 28 when they travel to play UNLV at the Thomas and Mack Center.
