By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score I
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Spencer Dixon was solid once again for Kennesaw State, posting 23 points for the second consecutive game to lead all scorers, but the Owls were unable to overcome several second half runs by the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, falling, 74-66, on Monday night at the KSU Convocation Center to drop their third consecutive game. The game was the second for the Owls in the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge.
The Owls (2-3), who trailed, 38-32, at halftime, shot .386 from the floor (22-57), and never led in the ball game. They got to within two points on a pair of occasions in the second half, first on a three-point basket by Kelvin McConnell, who had a season-high 13 points to lead the bench in scoring for the fifth straight game, from several feet behind the arc off of a bounce pass from Markeith Cummings to make it 45-43 with 14:54 remaining, and the next on the next Owls possession by LaDaris Green, who tipped in a Spencer Dixon miss to make it 47-45 with 13:00 left.
That would be as close as the Owls would come all game, however, as Northern Arizona (3-2), led by Cameron Jones who had 20 points, pulled away with a 9-0 run over the next 4:47, a run in which the Black and Gold missed four straight shots to give the Lumberjacks an 11-point lead. It wasn’t until McConnell made another three with 8:01 left, his third of the game, to keep the Owls within shouting distance at 58-50 that they ended their drought.
Down seven with 6:24 remaining, Cummings, who had a season-low 10 points, excited the crowd with a thunderous dunk to make it a five-point contest. Consecutive layups by Northern Arizona’s Josh Lepley with the next 1:09 would put the Owls back down by nine and put the game effectively out of reach.
“Northern Arizona is a good basketball team. They shot well from the floor consistently, from three and they rebounded solidly,” Owl head coach Tony Ingle said. “They jumped out to a quick lead at the beginning of the game and I thought we battled back very well at times to make it a ballgame. We got some very good production from our bench, collectively, we just didn’t play team defense the way we need to.”
The Owls were plagued by the Lumberjacks’ successful conversion of second-chance opportunities all-night long, scoring 13 second-chance points to the Owls four. The charge underneath was led by senior Shane Johannsen, whose game-high 17 rebounds included four on the offensive end.
Kennesaw State was able to do a solid job holding onto the ball, committing a season-low 10 turnovers to the Lumberjacks 12, but NAU made them pay whenever they did turn the ball over, posting 12 points off of turnovers. Dixon thought that was a key to the outcome of the game.
“We only had 10 turnovers, but it seemed like whenever they did get one from us, it was costly,” he said.
NAU began the game on a 9-0 run, and led by as many as 13 in the first half. The Owls were able to avoid letting the game get away from them by way of three-point plays, first coming the old fashioned way with Cummings finishing a layup in traffic before getting fouled and then making the free-throw. McConnell and Dixon would follow soon after with three-point baskets of their own.
LaDaris Green led the way for the Owls with 11 rebounds, his second double-digit rebounding effort of the season.
Northern Arizona was consistent from the floor all evening, shooting .491 (28-57) from the field.
Monday night’s game marked the last one the Owls will play at KSU Convocation Center until Jan. 3, when they host USC Upstate. They travel to the midwest this week, when they will visit Iowa State on Wednesday and Creighton on Friday to complete their participation in the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge. The game on Wednesday is scheduled to tip-off at 7:00 p.m. CST.
Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge Standings (As of 11/22)
Iowa State 3-0
Creighton 2-1
Northern Arizona 2-2
Alabama State 1-3
Kennesaw State 0-2
