Jan. 18, 2009
Box Score
KENNESAW, Ga. - After trailing for the majority of the game, the Owls rallied in the last 10 minutes to defeat the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, 70-69, in the KSU Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon.
Kennesaw State (6-10, 2-5 A-Sun), who snapped their eight-game losing streak, trailed by seven points in the second half before a 10-2 rally gave the Black and Gold the lead. The rally was sparked by five points from Kurtis Woods and was capped off with a three-point field goal by Kelvin McConnell, one of four long distance shots on the day by the sophomore guard.
Over the final six minutes of the game, KSU held a four-point lead on five different occasions including a 70-66 lead with 11 seconds remaining. However, Florida Gulf Coast (8-12, 4-5 A-Sun) trimmed the Owls lead to one point when Reggie Chambers drained a long distance three-pointer with 7.1 seconds left to play.
The Owls had to withstand desperation three-pointer at the buzzer after McConnell missed the front-end of a one-and-one with just over two seconds left to play. McConnell finished as the games high-scorer with 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor.
KSU had three players in double-figures with Woods scoring 18 points and Zadrian Gibson adding 10 points. But it was the inspired play of Jay Mitchell that helped the Owls in the final moments.
The junior, playing in his second game since returning from an ankle injury, out-muscled three FGCU defenders for an offensive rebound and hit a free-throw to give KSU a two-point lead. The Texas Tech transfer then hit a lay-up with 30 seconds left pushing the Kennesaw State lead to four points.
The Black and Gold got off to s slow start trailing 9-0 after Reed Baker hit back-to-back three-pointers in less than a minute. The Owls found themselves trailing by double-digits for the majority of the first half, but were kept in the game by McConnell's hot shooting. The second-year guard scored 11 first half points including a trio of three-pointers and kept the Black and Gold within striking distance.
The Owls shot 36.9% from the field but controlled the offensive boards, out-rebounding the Eagles 19-9 and 39-35 for the game. KSU committed a season low eight turnovers in the game while forcing 14 FGCU turnovers. Woods had a career high five steals to lead the Owls.
Chambers scored 15 points to lead Florida Gulf Coast. Delvin Franklin added 14 points and Kyle Marks had 13 points for the Eagles as they dropped their second straight game.
Kennesaw State will be back in action on Saturday evening, Jan. 24, when they travel to Nashville, Tenn. to battle the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion Belmont Bruins. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. CST at the Curb Event Center.
