By: by Mark Toma
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Stetson Hatters come to town on Monday night and will meet a revitalized Kennesaw State team that has won four consecutive games and is looking for its first-ever season sweep of the Hatters.
The Owls (10-12, 5-6 A-Sun) defeated Stetson, 75-59, last Sunday in DeLand, Fla., the second win in KSU’s four-game winning streak. It also marked the beginning of a three-game slide that Stetson will carry into Monday night’s game.
The struggling Hatters (5-15, 3-9 A-Sun) trail North Florida by two games for the eighth and final spot in the A-Sun tournament and are in dire need of a win. Although earning single-digit wins over FGCU, ETSU and Mercer, each one of Stetson’s losses this season have been by double-figures.
For Kennesaw State, after defeating Florida Gulf Coast, 77-70, on Saturday evening in front of a fueled KSU Convocation Center crowd, they now have the program’s second-longest winning streak since becoming a Division I member in 2005-06, when they won seven games in a row.
Jon-Michael Nickerson, who began the season strong and suffered through a mild mid-season slump, turned things around on Saturday night when he scored a career-high 21 points. The Millbrook, Ala. native went 6-for-7 from the field and was the same from the free-throw line while also connecting on all three of his three-pointers.
The co-captain is also one of the Owls most consistent players. He is the only player to have led the Owls in each major category (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks) in a game multiple times. Also, Nickerson is one of three players, along with Markeith Cummings and LaDaris Green, to lead KSU in rebounds in a game this season.
After winning his second A-Sun Player of the Week Award last week, Cummings, who is the leading freshman scorer in the country, had another strong week for the Owls as he averaged 20.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games. The Birmingham, Ala. native scored 25 points at Mercer on Thursday and followed with a 16-point effort at home against Florida Gulf Coast.
A.J. Smith (14.4 ppg) and Ridge Graham (11.8) lead the Hatters. The duo has combined to lead Stetson in scoring in 16 of 20 games this season and is responsible for 45.5 percent of the Hatters scoring. Stetson is averaging 58.8 points, 10th in the A-Sun ahead of only North Florida (58.0 ppg), entering Monday’s game.
Tyshawn Patterson (9.2 ppg), who led the Hatters in scoring in four of the season’s first six games, including games at Florida and Florida State, is a dangerous scorer, but has been quiet lately.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard live on 920 am WGKA as well as on-line at www.920wgka.com. Craig Corbin, play-by-play and Scott Webb, color analyst, will call the action beginning with the Peachtree Orthopedic Clinic Pre-game Show beginning at 7:00 p.m.
