By: by Scott Lipsky
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OMAHA, Neb. – The Kennesaw State Owls wrap up their Thanksgiving trip, as well as their participation in the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge, on Friday evening, when they take on the Creighton Blue Jays at the Qwest Center at 7:05 p.m. CST. The Owls will be looking to end a four-game losing streak.
Coming off of a 91-51 loss to Iowa State on Wednesday evening, Kennesaw State Owls head coach Tony Ingle knows there is work to do, but is eager for the challenge.
“We need to solidify ourselves both offensively and defensively with this game coming up, need to get our guys to bounce back and eliminate some bad habits,” Ingle said. “Creighton is a very good basketball team, and we need to do some things better than we did on Wednesday.”
One key to being more successful than they were on Wednesday will be more playing time out of sophomore forward LaDaris Green. Green, a sophomore, started the first five games of the season for the Owls before being limited to just three minutes on Wednesday due to not being 100% healthy. If they can get him back up-and-running, said Ingle, the team will be in much better shape.
“LaDaris has been a huge factor for our team this season, and in order to do what we want to do, we need him out on the court,” said Ingle.
A bright spot for the Owls (2-4) on Wednesday evening was reserve forward Artie Marine, who scored nine points off the bench as the de-facto sixth man, a role usually reserved for senior guard Kelvin McConnell, who was called into duty in the starting due to Green’s situation. The contribution was a big one, as Owls other than McConnell had averaged just 6.2 points per game off the bench combined coming into Wednesday.
In order to stay focused and have a positive outcome on Friday, Marine knows how important it will be for everyone on the roster to be ready to have an impact on the result.
“Whether we’re starting or coming off the bench, we have to make sure we are all ready when our numbers are called,” said Marine. “If we want to have better results, we need to always be playing defense and be smart with the ball at all times, both things that we are striving to improve upon.”
In Creighton (3-1), the Owls will be facing the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year in senior big man Kenny Lawson, Jr. The team also features last week’s MVC Player of the Week, junior guard Antoine Young, as well as head coach Greg McDermott’s son, Doug McDermott, who has already been named the MVC Newcomer of the Week twice this season. Also on the squad is senior guard Kaleb Korver, the younger brother of former Creighton great and current Chicago Bulls guard Kyle Korver.
The Blue Jays are 2-1 in the Global Sports Hy-Vee Challenge, to the Owls 0-3, with their lone loss coming on a buzzer beating three-pointer by the Cyclones to come away with a narrow, 91-88, decision.
This is the first time the two teams will square off, and is the only game this season between a team from the A-Sun and one from the MVC. The Owls visited fellow MVC member Wichita State on Dec. 19, 2006, falling, 74-65, in front of a capacity crowd of 10,478 in their only other game against an MVC team.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CST. The action will aired on Talk 920 AM WGKA, with play-by-play voice Craig Corbin and color analyst Scott Webb calling all the action. Fans can also listen to the broadcast on www.talk920.com. Live stats will be available on Creighton’s athletic website, www.gocreighton.com.
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| The Owls wish their friends, family and fans a happy Thanksgiving. |
