Jan. 29, 2008
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga.--Senior Shuan Stegall was 9-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the foul line, scoring a season-high 27 points to lead Kennesaw State to a, 79-77, comeback win over visiting Savannah State on Tuesday night at the KSU Convocation Center. The win was the third in a row for the Owls, marking a season-high winning streak.
"Regardless of the score, I was very proud of the effort our guys played with tonight," said KSU head coach Tony Ingle. "We fought hard for two conference wins over the weekend. We had to fight just as hard tonight against Savannah State. We had a hard time trying to find a good combination out on the floor against their match-ups, but Jon-Michael Nickerson came up big for us in the second half, Ronell Wooten had a lot of big rebounds for us, and Shuan was just phenomenal."
The Owls trailed by six just 75 seconds into the second half, but a pair of steals by the KSU defense led to easy baskets for Tanner Jacobs and Wooten, tying the game at 43-all, the sixth tie of the game. SSU built the lead back up to five, but a 9-0 run by KSU put the home team ahead 52-48.
Savannah State would fight back, tying the score at 54-all as the teams bounced the lead back and forth for the next six minutes. Finally at the 6:22 mark, Stegall connected on a driving lay-up and was fouled, completing a three-point play to put KSU ahead to stay, 65-63.
Savannah State would not go quietly into that rainy night, as the Tigers cut the lead to one, 68-67, with 2:31 to go. After two free throws by Stegall with 1:39 remaining, freshman Kelvin McConnell caught the SSU offense napping and stole the ball at mid-court, driving in for the backbreaking lay-up to give the Owls a five-point advantage.
From there, KSU would ice the game from the line as Nickerson, Wooten, and McConnell all hit foul shots in the final 70 seconds to give the Owls the 79-77 win.
The Owls came out hot to start the game, scoring 20 of the first 31 points to lead 20-11 with six and a half minutes gone by in the opening period. The Tigers would rally back, going on a 15-0 run to take a 26-20 lead. The rest of the first half would be indicative of the remainder of the game, as the teams swapped the lead 12 times with SSU leading 38-37 after the first 20 minutes.
Stegall, a senior from Atlanta, scored 12 in the first half and 15 in the second. He also added a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. "From foul shooting, to power moves, to running the offense, Shuan was just phenomenal for us tonight," said Coach Ingle. "He played the whole game for us, and he battled every minute."
The game marked the final non-conference contest of the season for the Owls. KSU will return to action this Friday when the Owls face USC Upstate in Spartanburg, S.C. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.
Notes:KSU won for the first time when trailing at the half...Nickerson tied his season-high with 11 points...The Owls won for the third time when being out-rebounded by their opponent...13 players saw action for Savannah State...The Owls hit just four three-pointers, matching their lowest output from beyond the arc this season.
