By: by Mark Toma
Box Score
ORONO, Me. – The chilly, single-digit temperatures in Maine slowly crept through the Kennesaw State offense as the Owls shot a blustery 30 percent in a hard-fought, 57-51, loss to the Maine Black Bears on Sunday afternoon at Alfond Arena.
The Owls (4-5) stayed close to the Black Bears in the first half and had opportunities to make their move in the second half, but couldn’t come within six points of Maine as the Black and Gold lost to the Black Bears for the second consecutive season.
Trailing by 16 points with just over four minutes left in the game, Markeith Cummings, who scored in double-figures for the ninth straight game, sparked the Owls towards a final run as he slammed home an pass from Matt Heramb and LaDaris Green followed with a three-pointer to come within 11 points of Maine.
After a defensive stop, Cummings would slice through the lane for another lay-up and Kurtis Woods would hit a three-pointer to trim the lead in half, but that was as close as Kennesaw State would get as Cummings had another lay-up disallowed which would have brought the Owls to within six points.
Maine’s Troy Barnies took advantage on the next possession with a one-hander jumper in the lane to build the lead to eight points with just under two minutes left, sealing the win for the Black Bears (5-4) who won their second straight game.
Earlier in the second half, an inspired Heramb followed a Dixon missed three-pointer with a tip-in over two Maine defenders with 12:37 left in the game and Woods fought through a bevy of Maine defenders for an offensive rebound and hit a free-throw to cut the Maine lead to 37-31 with just under 12 minutes to play, the closest KSU would get the remainder of the game.
The Owls were able to weather an early first half storm in which Maine got offense rebounds and second-chance shots on their first four possessions, but only held a 4-2 lead after two-plus minutes. The Owls were able to tie the game at the 15:00 mark on the heels of an offensive rebound and put back by Jon-Michael Nickerson, the first of four straight points that gave the Owls their first lead of the game, 9-7, with 14:30 left in the opening stanza.
Matt Heramb then connected on a short jumper from the right of the foul line for an 11-7 Kennesaw State lead, their largest of the half. Maine answered Mike Allison battled three Owls for an offensive rebound and followed with a one-handed follow to stop the 6-0 run and trim the KSU advantage to a basket.
With the Owls ahead 12-9, Gerald McLemore hit a three-pointer from in front of the Owls bench that tied the game and Terrance Mitchell followed with a three-pointer from the corner in front of the KSU bench to give Maine a three-point advantage.
Trailing 17-12, Kelvin McConnell hit a lofty three-pointer that broke a 4:31 scoring drought by both teams and brought the owls within two points. Spencer Dixon came up with a steal on the next possession and drove the length of the court for the game-tying layup.
The three-pointers did most of the damage to the Owls in the first half as Maine connected on 7-of-17 long range shots, keeping the Owls just at arms length. McLemore, who had five first half three-pointers and scored 15 points, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key to build a seven-point Maine advantage with 1:30 in the half. Kennesaw State, who didn’t make a field goal over the final four minutes of the half, missed on four consecutive possessions to end the half as the Black Bears took a 31-22 lead into halftime.
Green had a career and KSU season high 15 rebounds, but it was a season-low 29.7% shooting afternoon, including 5-of-29 on three-pointers that did in the Owls as Cummings, Woods and Dixon combined to go 5-for-33 from the field.
The Owls will be back in action next Saturday afternoon, Dec. 19, when they visit Kalamazoo, Mich. to play Western Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. with all the action available live on 920 am WGKA and online at www.920WGKA.com. Craig Corbin, play-by-play, and Scott Webb, color analyst, will call the action with the Peachtree Orthopedic Pregame Show beginning at 1:30 p.m.
