By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score
NASHVILLE- The Kennesaw State Owls hoped to end their regular season on a high note, but it was not to be, as they lost their seventh consecutive game, a 74-42 decision to Belmont on Saturday night.
Redshirt freshman Markeith Cummings was his usual self, leading all scorers in the game with 19 points, 11 of them coming on free throws, and also led his team with eight rebounds, but he was one of the lone bright spots on Saturday night for the Owls (12-19, 7-13 A-Sun), who will face Lipscomb in the first round of the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship tournament on Wednesday.
Collectively, the squad shot a dismal 12-50 (24.0%) from the floor, easily trumping their 17-60 (28.3%) performance at Jacksonville on January 4 as their worst shooting performance of the season. No Owl other than Cummings scored more than five points, and they were outrebounded, albeit only 38-35, for the fifth straight game.
There was no particular player on the Bruins (19-11, 14-6 A-Sun) that dominated the game, as sophomore forward Mick Hedgepeth led the way for Belmont with 14 points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard Ian Clark chipped in with 13.
Collectively, however, it was clear that the Owls were having serious trouble with what the Bruins were throwing at them, especially defensively. While Belmont shot a respectable 26-57 from the floor (45.6%), they forced Kennesaw State into 23 turnovers against just seven assists.
The Black and Gold were able to hang with the Bruins in the early stages of the game, trailing just 8-5 after two Cummings free throws at the first media timeout with 15:41 remaining in the first half. Belmont would start to pull away quickly thereafter, however, going on a 18-4 run over the next 6:06 to take a commanding, 26-9 lead, and the Owls never threatened to get back in the game from that point forward.
Trailing 49-20 at the half, the Owls were able to cut the deficit to 27 on two Cummings free throws to make 49-22 with 18:54 remaining. That would be as close as they would get the rest of the way, as an 11-4 run made it 60-26 and rendered the rest of the game academic.
With the loss, the Owls dropped their fourth consecutive contest to the Bruins, and fell to 2-7 in the all-time series between the two teams. Their last meeting against Belmont was much more competitive, a 75-70 overtime decision at the KSU Convocation that opened the Owls A-Sun schedule on December 3.
The game also concluded the regular season for Tony Ingles’ squad, who will head to Macon, Ga. as the eighth seed in their first ever appearance in the Atlantic Sun Championship tournament, which will be hosted by Mercer. Their game against Lipscomb, who earned the tournament’s number one seed on Saturday with an 85-73 victory over Mercer, will be played on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. To purchase your tickets to the General Shale Atlantic Sun Tournament or for more information please call 478-301-5470 or visit www.mercerbears.com.
