By: by Scott Lipsky
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Kennesaw State Owls will try to snag their first Atlantic Sun Conference win this season when they take on the Lipscomb Bisons on Saturday evening at Allen Arena in Nashville. The Black and Gold are coming off of a loss to Belmont on Thursday evening.
The Owls (2-7, 0-1 A-Sun) are still trying to find the magic in their games that allowed them to take down Georgia Tech, 80-63, on Nov. 15 in front of a raucous home crowd. It has been tough sledding since then, however, as they have yet to win a game since then despite some close calls, including a heartbreaking, 77-76 loss in double overtime to SIU Edwardsville on Dec. 11.
Thursday night was not one of those close calls, as the Owls fell soundly to the Belmont Bruins, 87-60 in their 2010-11 A-Sun opener. The score, however, is a little deceiving, as head coach Tony Ingle’s squad was within five points of the lead several minutes into the second half before the Bruins put the game away with an 18-2 run over four-and-a-half minutes, stretch in which the Owls missed seven straight shots. The cold streak was indicative of the Owls night, as they shot a season-low 33.3 percent (22-for-66) from the field.
In Lipscomb (6-2, 1-0 A-Sun), the Owls are getting a team that does several things extremely well, namely, scoring, passing and rebounding. They currently rank second, second and first in those categories in the conference, and are led by 2010 A-Sun Player of the Year and All-American Honorable Mention Adnan Hodzic, a senior who currently leads in the conference individually in scoring and rebounding. Not to be overlooked on their squad is another senior, guard Josh Slater. Slater, who was named to the A-Sun’s Preseason All-Conference Team along with the Owls Markeith Cummings, ranks right behind Hodzic in scoring and rebounding, and is also tied for third in the conference in assists, matching the Owls Spencer Dixon with 4.8 per contest.
If the Owls are to be successful on Saturday evening, it will be important for the Black and Gold to protect the interior, something Ingle has emphasized to his players. Their efforts against the rebounding prowess of Hodzic and Slater can only be helped by the addition to the rotation of the Owls Matt Heramb, a senior forward who made his 2010-11 debut on Thursday night. He added some depth to the interior, posting 10 points and blocking a pair of shots in his first action of the year.
“Lipscomb is an excellent team and they have some very strong play in the low post, which is something we have struggled with so far this season,” Ingle said. “We are confident since we played well against them, last year, but we need to make sure our guys are ready to play at a high level tomorrow evening.”
Recent history favors the Owls in this match-up, as they won two out of their three match-ups against the Bisons last season. The two teams split their home-and-home series on the conference schedule, before the Black and Gold took down the Bisons, 72-69, in the A-Sun Tournament Quarterfinals. The outcome was a historic one, as it was the Owls first ever-win in the A-Sun Tournament in their first year of eligibility, and it was the first time a No. 8 seed beat a No. 1 seed in the championship since 2000. In beating the Bisons, the Owls also earned the distinction of being the only team to beat them twice last season.
Having dropped seven straight, the Owls can also look to last year’s A-Sun triumph as possible foreshadowing, as their win on Mar. 3 of last season happened to snap a seven-game losing streak.
“We beat them twice last year, and I’m sure they’re going to want to avenge that,” Dixon said. “There is no better time than now to come together as a team and pull out a victory. We’re excited.”
Tip-off on Saturday is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. CST. Fans can listen to all the action on Talk 920 AM with play-by-play voice Craig Corbin and color analyst and Owls legend Scott Webb. Live stats will also be available.
