By: by Mark Toma
Box Score
BUIES CREEK, N.C. - Markeith Cummings scored a team-high 15 points and three other players scored in double figures for Kennesaw State, but Campbell handed the Black and Gold its third straight loss, 71-64, on Monday night at the James W. Pope Convocation Center.
Campbell (16-9, 11-5 A-Sun) also had four players score in double digits, but their leading scorer, Jonathan Rodriguez, was the game's leading scorer with 21 points including connecting on 13-of-15 from the free-throw line as the Camels won their fourth consecutive game and moved into three-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The Owls (12-15, 7-9 A-Sun) twice took a one-point lead in the final eight minutes of the game on three-pointers only to see their slight lead vanish on the very next Campbell possession. Kelvin McConnell gave the Owls a, 51-50, lead with 8:39 left before Lorne Merthie connected on a long-range shot of his own for a, 53-51, Camels lead.
Less than two minutes later, Kurtis Woods hit a three-point shot to push the Owls ahead, 56-55, with 6:42 left. But quickly, Rodriguez sliced the lane for a basket as the Camels took a one-point advantage with 6:19 remaining.
Cummings would bring the Owls to within a point once more at the 4:49 mark when a slashing lay-up made the score, 59-58. However, the Black and Gold would get no closer as they would end the game by shooting 2-for-7, while Campbell went 3-for-4 from the field including a pair of big three-pointers by Merthie and four free-throws by Rodriguez. The Camels senior has averaged 23 points in two games against the Black and Gold this season.
Kennesaw State never led in the first half and trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening stanza, their largest deficit of the night, before trimming the Campbell lead to, 34-28, at intermission. The Owls would lead only twice in the game, for a combined total of 59 seconds.
Woods and McConnell would each score 11 points for the Owls while Spencer Dixon chipped in 10 points. Kyle Vejraska scored 13 points for Campbell with Miles Taylor and Preston Dodson adding 10 points each. Merthie scored all nine of his points on a trio of three-pointers.
In a fairly evenly matched statistical night, both teams shot extremely well from the field with the Owls connecting on 23-of-44 field goals for a 52.3 percent clip while the Camels made 25 of 46 shots from the field for a 54.3 percent mark. However, the Camels did enjoy a better night from long range.
Although making just one more three-pointer than the Owls, Campbell shot 54.5 percent from beyond the arc while the Owls were just 7-for-18 (38.9%) from down town. The Owls also missed nine of their 20 free-throw attempts while Campbell, led by Rodriguez' 13-for-15 from the line, missed just three of 18 from the charity stripe.
The Owls will be back in action on Thursday evening as they open up their final homestand of the season. The Black and Gold will host Jacksonville on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center with the final home game of the season, Senior Night, coming on Saturday evening, Feb. 20, when the Owls host North Florida.
The weekend's games can both be heard live on 920 WGKA and on-line at www.920WGKA.com. The Peachtree Orthopedic Clinic Pregame Show tips things off at 7:00 p.m.
