By: by Scott Lipsky
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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Black and Gold will try to make it two wins in a row on Wednesday evening, when they host the East Tennessee State Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center. Kennesaw State is coming off of a, 78-71, win over USC Upstate on Monday evening.
The Owls (3-10, 1-2 A-Sun) will hope to carry forward the play that saw them force 19 turnovers and shoot 59.3 percent in the first half. The three leading scorers on this year’s squad, Markeith Cummings, Spencer Dixon and Kelvin McConnell, played true to their roles on Monday evening, combining to score 63 of the team’s 78 points, including 24 for Dixon and a season-high 23 for McConnell, while Cummings chipped in with 16 and collected a career-high five steals.
Despite getting beaten on the glass, 37-32, against the Spartans, the Owls were able to hang tough on the boards thanks to the play of Aaron Anderson, who pulled down 16 rebounds in the win, the most rebounds by an Owl this season.
In the Bucs (7-7, 2-1 A-Sun), the Black and Gold find themselves a challenging opponent who is still considered to be one of the teams to beat in the conference despite a start to the season that is not what many expected. While only 7-7, head coach Murry Bartow’s squad, like the Owls, knocked off a “Power Six” conference opponent during their non-conference schedule, taking down Mississippi State, 63-62, on Dec. 11.
The Bucs not only return four starters from last year’s A-Sun Tournament championship squad that made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, they also in essence have added another weapon to their arsenal, senior guard Mike Smith, who missed all but four games of last season due to injury and received a medical redshirt to play this season. So far, it has been worth the wait for ETSU fans, as Smith currently leads the team with 15.4 points per game, good for seventh in the conference.
“Wednesday night is a very formidable task for us. They are one of the premier programs in our league, having represented the A-Sun in the NCAA Tournament the last two years,” Owls head coach Tony Ingle said. “The challenge for our team will be to see how well we fare against a team that’s played in the NCAA Tournament, as a lot of their guys on this year’s team played in the tournament last year. We’re hoping to take the confidence that we gained on Monday night and use it to put forth a great effort and come out on top.”
The Bucs hold a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series, having won the last nine meetings, including three last year. Their streak of good fortune against the Black and Gold almost came to a halt last season, when the two teams met in the A-Sun semifinals two days after the Owls upset of Lipscomb in the quarterfinals. The Owls jumped out to an early, 15-point lead, and led with 7:42 remaining in the game before the Bucs pulled out a 69-64 victory. The only time the Owls were victorious was in the two teams’ first-ever meeting on January 12, 2006, when the Bucs took the Owls to overtime before falling, 78-72, in Kennesaw.
Tickets to Monday night’s game are $10 for adults and $6 for youth in eighth grade or younger. Kennesaw State students are admitted free to all athletic events with a valid student ID.
Fans can listen to all of the action on Talk 920 AM and www.talk920.com with the voice of the Owls, Craig Corbin, and color analyst and former Owls great Scott Webb. Subscribers to A-Sun.tv can also watch the game live via their internet stream. Live stats will also be available.
