By: by Scott Lipsky
Listen Live I Game Notes I Live stats Watch Live
|
|
| Owls captain Kelvin McConnell talks about playing conference games |
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Atlantic Sun Conference play begins on Thursday for the Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team, as head coach Tony Ingle and his squad travel north to play their two league counterparts in the Music City this weekend, kicking things off with the Belmont Bruins on Thursday.
“I think this weekend will tell us a lot about our team, as we’re playing two very tough teams in Belmont and Lipscomb,” Ingle said. “Ultimately, you’re evaluated on how well you do in conference play, so as far as I see it, we’re 0-0 right now. Our guys should be up for the challenge, and it will be a challenging weekend, as winning on the road in this conference is always a demanding task.”
For the Owls (2-6), proving victorious on Thursday will accomplish two things, first and foremost, snapping a six-game losing streak which began right after the Black and Gold’s victory over Georgia Tech on Nov. 15. Second, it will allow the Owls to get off to a good start in conference play, as they begin to chart their course towards the A-Sun tournament, which takes the top-eight eligible finishers in the conference standings at the end of the season.
Though the Black and Gold have struggled as a team recently, having shot 39.9 percent during their slide while allowing the opposition to shoot 48.2 percent, there have been several bright spots across the roster, beginning with junior guard Spencer Dixon. Dixon, who won the A-Sun Player of the Week award after his 27-point performance against the Yellow Jackets, has continued his solid play as of late, pouring in 24 on Saturday evening in a tough, double-overtime loss at SIU Edwardsville while dishing out eight assists.
After coming into the season with a career-high of 18 points in a game, the Marietta, Ga. native has notched four games of 20 or more points this season, and has had 16 or more in six out of the first eight contests. His 17.3 points per game is 96th in the nation and as of Sunday, while his 4.8 assists per game ranks him 65th and his 2.3 steals per game puts him 41st. He currently ranks fourth, tied for third and fourth in those categories in the A-Sun, respectively.
Another bright spot for the Owls has been sophomore forward Aaron Anderson, who helped his team’s shooting woes on Saturday with a 7-for-7 performance from the field to go along with 12 rebounds. His flawless shooting was the first by an Owl who had that many shot attempts since Kelvin McConnell also went 7-for-7 in the Owls home win over Lipscomb on Dec. 5 of last season. His 8.1 rebounds per game puts him third in the conference as of Wednesday.
It will be key for Anderson as well as fellow frontcourt mate, sophomore LaDaris Green, to be aggressive underneath the boards. Green matched Anderson’s 12 rebounds with 10 of his own on Saturday night, marking the first time this season that two Owls had double digits in rebounding, helping them to a tie in the rebounding battle against SIUE.
In Belmont (6-2, 1-0 A-Sun), the Owls are finding a tough opponent that features three players averaging double figures in scoring, led by sophomore guard Ian Clark at 13.3 points per game clip. Clark has been proven to be a weapon from deep, having hit 41.0 percent of his three point attempts. That’s impressive enough in itself, but when you consider the fact that Clark is actually just second on his in three point shooting behind teammate Jordan Campbell (44.4 percent), it makes it especially important for the Owls to defend on the perimeter this weekend.
When looking at their team stats, it is not hard to see why they have been successful in the win column thus far this season, as they hold healthy advantages over their opponents in scoring margin (+13.5), rebounds (+2.1) and turnovers (+5.0). As a team, they lead the conference in scoring at 85.2 points per contest. The Owls will get no rest from high-octane offenses this weekend, as their opponent on Saturday, the Lipscomb Bisons, are currently second in the league at 83.9 points per game.
While Belmont has not played since Dec. 7, they share with the Owls the fact that their last game went into double-overtime, the Bruins coming out on the winning end, 88-87, against Middle Tennessee State.
They do not have a victory against an opponent from a major conference this season, however, they have shown that they can compete at the highest level of college basketball, losing by just nine points at then-23rd ranked Tennessee, 85-76, on Nov. 16 and falling by the same score to SEC counterpart Vanderbilt on Dec. 4. Their first foray into A-Sun play was a success, as they easily dispatched of the Owls in-state rival, Mercer, 89-67, on Dec. 2.
Belmont currently holds a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series, having swept the team’s two games last season. While the Owls sent their Dec. 3 meeting at the KSU Convocation Center to overtime, eventually succumbing, 75-70, the Bruins won convincingly at their place later that season, 74-42, on Feb. 27. Owls sophomore Markeith Cummings had arguably the best game of his career to this point in the team’s first meeting last season, going off for 32 points and 11 rebounds in the hard-fought defeat. He was a bright spot in the two squad’s second meeting, posting 19 points to go along with eight rebounds.
The Owls are 0-4 all-time at Belmont, with their last victory over the Bruins coming on Jan. 24, 2008, an 81-79, win at the KSU Convocation Center, which saw McConnell, now a senior but then a freshman, hit the game-winning three-pointer in one of his first great moments as an Owl.
Kennesaw State is 2-3 all-time in A-Sun openers, They dropped last season's conference opener, hosting Belmont and falling, 75-70, in overtime.
Tip-off on Thursday evening will be at 7:15 p.m. CST. Fans can listen live on Talk 920 AM, with play-by-play voice Craig Corbin and color analyst Scott Webb calling all the action. Fans can also listen to the broadcast by visiting www.talk920.com. Fans who would like to view the game can do so for a fee by visiting www.asun.tv. Live stats will also be available.
