By: by Scott Lipsky
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BRONX, N.Y. – The Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team travels to the Big Apple to take on the Fordham Rams on Wednesday at Rose Hill Gymnasium at 7 p.m.
The Owls (2-8) will be looking to repeat the success they had against Fordham last season, when Markeith Cummings scored a game-high 27 points and LaDaris Green had 15 points and 12 rebounds on their way to a, 79-66, victory on Dec. 29 at the KSU Convocation Center.
Having dropped their last eight contests, the Black and Gold will look to improve their shooting from the field on Wednesday, having shot 36.7 percent on Saturday at Lipscomb and a season-low 33.3 percent at Belmont on Thursday evening. They were able to get a high level of production from their two leading scorers on Saturday, with Cummings posting 23 points and junior guard Spencer Dixon adding 21 in the team’s effort, which ended in a 99-73 defeat, the 99 points being the most points they have allowed in a game since Jan. 25, 2006.
In Fordham (5-4), the Owls find a team that is much improved from their 2-26 record during the 2009-10 campaign. Under new head coach Tom Pecora, who comes to the Bronx after nine years at Hofstra, the Rams have already beaten perennial New York City powers Manhattan College and St. John’s, their victory over the Red Storm coming in their last game on Dec. 11, when they recovered from a 21-point deficit to come away with a victory. They feature 2010 Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year and Preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team selection Chris Gaston. The sophomore, who leads the conference in rebounding and is third in the nation with 12.9 per game, scored 26 points and had 12 rebounds in their game against Kennesaw State last season.
In addition, senior guard Brenton Butler, who hails from nearby Norcross, Ga., was named the A10 Player of the Week on Dec. 13 after averaging 21.5 points per game in the Rams’ wins over Manhattan and St. John’s. He also had a successful outing against the Owls last season, posting 25 points.
The Owls will look to their two leading rebounders, Green and Aaron Anderson, to have big nights on the glass, as a big key to Fordham’s success so far this season has been their rebounding, as they lead the conference in rebounds per game and rebounding margin. Already posting 12 rebounds against the Rams in their game last season, Green has already had four games this season in which he’s had double-digit rebounds, including a 12-rebound effort at Lipscomb on Saturday.
Kennesaw State is 2-1 in the state of New York as a Division I program, last visiting the Empire State on Nov. 26, 2008 for a road game against Colgate, a game they won, 54-50. The last time they visited New York City was Nov. 2006, when they played a pair of games at Columbia University as part of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic, defeating St. Peters and falling to Columbia on their home court.
Tip-off for Wednesday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be available for viewing courtesy of www.fordhamsports.com. Fans can listen to all of the action with the voice of the Owls, Craig Corbin, and color analyst and Owl great Scott Webb, on Talk 920 AM. The audio broadcast will also be stream on www.talk920. Live stats will also be available.
