By: by Mark Toma
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State will look to snap its two-game losing streak when they host Atlantic Sun Conference rival East Tennessee State on Thursday evening at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Owls (5-9, 1-2 A-Sun) enter the game, which was changed to a 5:30 p.m. start time, having dropped decisions at North Florida and Jacksonville. The Buccaneers (7-7, 3-0 A-Sun) are one of two undefeated teams remaining in the conference, along with Campbell, and enter the game fresh off of victories over Jacksonville and USC Upstate.
Since winning the first-ever meeting between the teams in 2006, the Owls have lost six straight games to the reigning A-Sun tournament champion Buccaneers, including a pair of double-digit defeats last season.
Kennesaw State, who has won four of five games at the KSU Convocation Center this season, carries a two-game home winning streak into Thursday night. The Owls posted a, 97-91, win over Lipscomb on Dec. 5 and enjoyed a 79-66 win on Dec. 29 over Fordham. The Buccaneers are 2-6 away from home this season.
Redshirt freshman Markeith Cummings continues to lead the Kennesaw State offense. The Savannah, Ga. native is averaging 17.5 points per game and is the only Owls player to score in double figures in all 14 games this season, including scoring over 20 points in two of the last three contests.
The Owls are averaging 56 points over their last two games and have received just four double-digit scoring efforts over that stretch. Cummings scored 23 points at North Florida and added 13 points at Jacksonville, while Kurtis Woods scored 10 points against the Dolphins and Jon-Michael Nickerson scored 11 points at North Florida.
East Tennessee State has been without preseason all-conference selection Mike Smith for all but four games this season. In his absence, junior forward Tommy Hubbard and junior guard Justin Tubbs have done well to fill the void.
Hubbard has posted double- doubles in seven of his last 13 games and was selected the A-Sun Player of the Week (Nov. 30) when he had a career best, 32-point, effort against Arkansas and a game-high 25-point effort in the victory over North Florida.
Meanwhile, Tubbs posted a career best 29 points against College of Charleston and 21 against Arkansas, to go with nine rebounds. Currently, Hubbard and Tubbs lead the Buccaneers in scoring, with Hubbard averaging 14.2 points per game, and Tubbs scoring at a 13.2 points per game clip.
The game can be heard live on 920 am WGKA and is also available on-line at www.920WGKA.com. Craig Corbin, play-by-play and Scott Webb, color analyst, will call the action with the pre-game show beginning at 5:15 p.m.
