By: by Scott Lipsky
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team hits the road for the first time during their 2010-11 campaign when they visit the Alabama State Hornets on Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. EST. The game is the first of four the Owls will play in as part of the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge.
Kennesaw State will try to use some of the momentum gained from their 2-1 start to the season, which includes a big, 80-63, win over Georgia Tech, on Monday night. The Black and Gold had just one day off before hosting Chattanooga on Wednesday evening, a hard-fought battle in which they ended up succumbing, 73-69, after being tied with less than two minutes to go in the game.
After playing two games in three days, the Owls will have just two days to rest, with one of them spent traveling. However, the extra day of rest will be beneficial to the Black and Gold, and head coach Tony Ingle will finally be able to see what his team is made of in a road environment.
"In order to win on the road at the Division I level you've got to have leaderdship, you've got to have toughness, and you've got to have some experience, and those are the three things that I plan on challenging my team to bring at the game tomorrow," Ingle said. "The new guys are fired up, and the veteran guys have been there before and know what it takes. We practice today and we'll be ready for game time tomorrow."
To Kelvin McConnell, a senior guard and the Owls captain, playing on the road is really important because it gives the team a chance to really come together as a singular unit.
"Playing on the road is completely different because nobody is pulling for you in the crowd," McConnell said. "It's really crucial that we play together and play like a team when we're away from home. For our new guys, it will be a good experience for them and will allow them to see how challenging college basketball can be."
Junior guard Spencer Dixon will have some added pressure heading into Saturday night’s game from a personal standpoint in order to keep a fun streak going. In each of the first three games this season, the Kennesaw Mountain High School product has reached a career milestone. In the Owls opening night, 82-62, victory over Georgia Southwestern, Dixon dished out a career-high nine assists and reached the 500-point mark for his career. The Owls win over Georgia Tech featured a career-high 27 points for Dixon, while his three steals in Wednesday night’s match-up put him at over 100 for his career in that category.
The Owls are tied, 1-1, in their all-time series with Alabama State. The last time they played one another was on Dec. 29, 2006, in a neutral site game as part of the UTC Dr. Pepper Classic, with the Black and Gold coming out victorious, 78-72. They also visited Alabama State on Dec. 1, 1999, falling in the contest, 80-74.
For Alabama State, Saturday night will be their home opener, having played three road games at Iowa State, Creighton and Northern Arizona. They have led this season thus far by junior center Patrick Davis, who is averaging 8.5 points per contest in the two games he has played this season, including 12 points against Northern Arizona.
Following Saturday, the Owls host Northern Arizona and then travel out to the Midwest for their road games against Iowa State and Creighton during Thanksgiving week as part of the Challenge.
The game will be aired live on Talk 920 AM and can also be heard by visiting www.talk920.com, with play-by-play voice Craig Corbin and color analyst and Owl great Scott Webb calling all the action.
