By: by Scott Lipsky
Box Score Post Game Notes
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – LaDaris Green had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead three Kennesaw State Owls in double figures, but a 12-2 run by the USC Upstate Spartans over the final 4:01 resulted in the Owls falling short on Monday evening, 59-54 at the G.B. Hodge Center.
The Owls (5-17, 3-9 Atlantic Sun Conference) held the Spartans (3-19, 2-10 A-Sun) to just 35 percent shooting on the evening (21-for-60), but had their own struggles from beyond the arc, making just 2 of 18 three-point attempts, against Upstate’s nine makes from long range. To Owls head coach Tony Ingle, that was, in large part, what was responsible for the outcome.
“The difference in the game tonight was three-point shooting. We had some open looks that we missed, and they had some contested shots that they made,” Ingle said. “I thought in every other aspect of the game, whether it was our defense, our rebounding, or just about anything else, our guys did a tremendous job. They played really hard, and they really bounced back from our game on Saturday [at ETSU]. LaDaris, in particular, was great for us tonight. It’s disappointing that the outcome wasn’t different, but I’m proud of the way we battled tonight.”
The Owls trailed, 29-22, at halftime, trailing for the final 18:08 of the first half after scoring the opening basket of the game, and kept the game close throughout the second half.
The Spartans were able to push their lead to 10 points on a pair of occasions, but the Black and Gold hung tough with the home team, using second chance opportunities to overcome the deficit. Down, 37-27 in the opening minutes of the second half, Green, who recorded his fifth double-double of the season and his season high in rebounds on Monday night, was able to haul in an offensive rebounds off of a Markeith Cummings miss converting a three-point play to make it a seven point game. Cummings, who had 14 points on the evening, would steal the ball near half court seconds later, taking it to the rim and just missing on a layup, but Green was there for the putback once again.
Green then asserted himself on the defensive end, recording one of his three blocks on the night before the ball was sent up the court and Spencer Dixon finished the play, making the score, 37-34 with 15:58 to play.
The Owls would soon break through and take their first lead since the opening moments of the game. Trailing, 41-39, Artie Marine swiped the ball from Torrey Craig, getting it ahead to Cummings. Cummings would find Dixon, who was sprinting down the right side into paint, and hit him with a perfect pass, Dixon laying the ball in and getting fouled in the process. He would make the free throw and give the Owls the lead, 42-41, with 11:36 to go in the game.
Kennesaw State would lead from that point forward until the 1:57 mark in the game, extending their lead to as many as five points on two occasions. It was a Craig three-point basket, his fourth of five in the contest, from the left wing on a kick-out from the paint by Babatunde Olumuyiwa with that much time remaining in the game, that allowed the Spartans to again pull even with the Owls. They would pull ahead, 54-52, on a pair of free throws by Josh Chavis, but the Owls evened it up one more time when Dixon calmly sank a pair of free throws with 54 seconds to play.
With the game tied, Craig would make one last back-breaking play, draining a three, this time from the right side, with 41 seconds left in regulation, to give the Spartans the decisive points in the contest.
Craig would finish with a career-high 27 points, a career high for the freshman, topping the 25 he posted against the Owls on Jan. 3, when the Black and Gold were victorious, 78-71.
Dixon was the third Owl to score in double figures on Monday evening, posting 13 points in the Owls effort.
Owls senior Matt Heramb was also a big presence in the paint, recording three blocks for the Owls.
The loss was the fifth straight for the Owls, and their fourth in their last five games against the Spartans, who snapped a 13-game skid of their own on Monday. The Black and Gold return home for their next game, facing Campbell on Monday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center.
