Jan. 19, 2008
Box Score
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Ronell Wooten scored a team-high 18 points and Kelvin McConnell added 17 points, but it wasn't enough offense for Kennesaw State as the Owls dropped their second straight game, falling to Florida Gulf Coast, 85-73, on Saturday night at Alico Arena.
A second half comeback saw the hot-shooting Owls overcome a 13-point deficit. Kennesaw State (3-15, 1-4 A-Sun) was able to tie the game, 51-51, when Tanner Jacobs (2-for-4) made a lay-up, taking a dart-like pass by Keonte Keith with just over 10 minutes remaining.
The 10-point rally began with the Owls trailing, 49-36, at the 15:12 mark. Shuan Stegall (4-for-9) hit a jumper in the paint. Wooten (6-for-17) followed with one of his six three-pointers to bring KSU to within eight points. John Allison (1-for-1) hit a basket and Wooten drained another long-range trey to bring the Owls, who shot 55.2% in the second half, within three points of the Eagles.
Delvin Franklin (6-for-11) hit a short jumper and a three-pointer on the next two possessions for FGCU (6-12, 2-3 A-Sun) to build a five-point lead. McConnell (5-for-10), who made 4-of-8 three-pointers, answered back with a three-pointer to bring the Owls within two points, but Franklin scored his eighth straight point on a traditional three-point play.
Keith (3-for-4, 8 points) then hit a three-pointer to bring the Owls back within two points, but that was as close as the Black and Gold would get as the Eagles went on a 5-0 run to build a seven-point advantage. The Owls would be able to cut their deficit back to four points on a three-pointer by Wooten at the 4:38 mark before FGCU's 8-1 run pushed the lead to double-digits.
For the second consecutive game Kennesaw State raced out to a 9-2 start only to see its early lead vanish via an explosive run. Against the Steson on Thursday, it was an 18-2 run that followed a 9-2 KSU start. Against the Eagles on Saturday, it was a 16-2 run that proved costly to the Owls.
A three-pointer by the Eagles' Franklin at the 16:47 mark sparked the run that ended nearly six minutes later on a lay-up by Yavney Neptune (2-for-4) giving Florida Gulf Coast an 18-11 lead. The Eagles shot 56% in the first half and 50.8% for the game.
Kennesaw State was able to keep the game under 10 points and a free-throw by Jonathan Whipple (1-for-3) with just over three minutes left in the half cut the Owls deficit to three points, 28-25. However, the Owls would get outscored, 7-1, the remainder of the half as they headed into the lockerroom trailing by nine points.
Wooten again led the Owls in scoring while McConnell dropped in 17 points while dishing off six assists and grabbing four rebounds. Stegall scored 10 points and added five rebounds before fouling out.
Florida Gulf Coast had five players score in double figures, led by Casey Wohlleb's game-high 19 points. Wahlleb (7-for-18) led the Eagles in scoring for the seventh straight game. Franklin scored 17 points while Landon Adler (7-for-9) scored 14, Terike Barrowes (3-for-6) added 12 and Roman Narmbaye (5-for-7) contributed 10 points.
The Owls will be back in action on Thursday evening when they host Belmont at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center. The game can be heard on SuperTalk 1230/1340 and can be seen on the web on ASun.TV.
