By: by Mark Toma
DeLAND, Fla. – Kennesaw State won a game in the state of Florida for the first time in more than two years on Friday night when they defeated Florida Gulf Coast and on Sunday the Owls will look for another victory when they take on Stetson at the Edmunds Center.
The Owls and the Hatters will be meeting for the ninth time with Stetson having won five of the eight prior meetings, including a sweep of the Owls last season. Kennesaw State has not won at Stetson since they knocked off the Hatters, 73-57, in January of 2006, the Black and Gold’s first year in the Atlantic Sun Conference and their first Division I season.
Kennesaw State (7-12, 2-6 A-Sun) snapped its five-game conference losing streak on Friday and is looking to win back-to-back A-Sun games for the first time since winning three straight games at the end of the 2007-08 season when they defeated Stetson, Florida Gulf Coast and North Florida in succession.
Each team is coming off impressive wins on Friday night. The Owls toppled FGCU, 69-68, marking the first time this season that the Black and Gold have won a game when scoring under 70 points. The, 69 points was the fewest scored in a Kennesaw State win this season. The Owls had defeated SIU-Edwardsville, 71-60, on Jan. 12 in Kennesaw.
Stetson (5-12, 3-6 A-Sun) upset Mercer, 76-69, snapping the Bears five-game winning streak and costing them a place along Campbell and ETSU atop the conference standings. With the victory, the Hatters have won two of their last three games including a stunning win over East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn., their lone road win of the season.
Markeith Cummings dazzled the FGCU fans on Friday night with a 30-point performance, the second best scoring night of his collegiate career. The freshman scored the Owls first 17 points of the game en route to his 19th consecutive double-digit scoring game.
Cummings is now averaging over 17 points per game and is the leading freshman scorer in the conference as well as being among the top rookie scorers in the nation. Currently, he is still the only freshman in the nation to record a point/rebound and point/assist double-double this season.
Kurtis Woods had another strong outing for the Owls, scoring 15 points including a pair of free-throws that proved to be the game-winning points on Friday night. Woods, the Owls second-leading scorer this season at 13.6 points per game, recently eclipsed the 500-point plateau for his career. Midway through his sophomore season, Woods has 561 points.
Leading the Hatters offense are their two leading scorers, A.J. Smith and Ridge Graham. Smith, who tops the Hatters at 14.5 points per game, is coming off a 22-point effort against Mercer. Graham, who is the Hatters second leading scorer (11.6 ppg), is also their top rebounder, grabbing nearly six boards per night.
After not scoring in double figures in his first 14 games, Mark Lohuis made a name for himself on Friday night. The senior guard went for double-digits for the second time in three games when he scored a season-high 15 points, all coming on three-pointers. The Vero Beach, Fla. native tripled his season scoring mark in the game and is averaging close to 10 points over his last three games.
The game is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and can be heard live on 920 am WGKA and on-line at www.920WGKA.com. Jason Hanes and Art Eckman will call the action beginning with the pregame show at 1:30 p.m.
