By: KSU Sports Information
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Kennesaw State Owls open up Atlantic Sun Conference play on Thursday evening when they take on the Belmont Bruins at the Curb Athletic Center at 8:15 p.m. EST. The Black and Gold will be trying to pull to .500 on the season after dropping a double-overtime decision to South Carolina State on Saturday.
The Owls (2-3, 0-0 A-Sun) tip-off an eight-game stretch away from home on Thursday, spanning five weeks and taking them to five different states. The trip commences with a two-game swing to the Music City, where they face their A-Sun foes to the north in Belmont (3-2) on Thursday evening before staying in town to face the Lipscomb Bisons on Saturday afternoon in another A-Sun tilt.
Listen to All of the Action Live: Fans can listen to all Owls men's basketball games live and on-demand, free-of-charge, on KSU All-Access, by visiting
www.KSUOwls.com/showcase. Jason Hanes and Nathan McRary be calling all of the action on Thursday evening.
We Open With Them Again: For the third straight year, the Owls will tip-off their Atlantic Sun Conference slate with a match-up against the Bruins. This is the second straight season they will be at the Curb Event Center to start A-Sun play.
The Owls in A-Sun Openers: The Black and Gold are 2-4 in conference openers since joining the Atlantic Sun Conference in the fall of 2005. Their last such victory came exactly three years ago, when they took down USC Upstate, 66-64. They have not won an A-Sun opener away from the KSU Convocation Center.
Improving From the Field: Lewis Preston’s squad has achieved a season-high in field goal percentage in every game this season, topping their best effort the next time out each game. They improved on their previous best this past Saturday, when they shot a scorching, 53.6 percent, in their 104-98, double-overtime loss to South Carolina State.
Owls Head Coach Lewis Preston- On starting conference play against Belmont: "Our guys know the importance of playing in conference, and a game against a team like Belmont is a great way to start things off. Our players are grasping our concepts more and more each day, I've even seen a good deal of improvement from our last game on (Nov. 26). The thing about Belmont, they can hurt you in so many ways. They have guards like J.J. Mann and Kerron Johnson, but then also dangerous big men like Scott Saunders and Mick Hedgepeth. They do a lot of things well, and their record (3-2) doesn't tell the whole story, since their losses have come to Duke and Memphis."
Preston on rebounding on Saturday's 104-98, double-overtime loss: "Games like that are important, because it put our team in a position where they faced some adversity down the stretch. We went through it, and now the next step is to learn how to finish games like that."
Owls sophomore Brandon Dawson- On playing at Belmont: "I think we'll be ready. Coach Preston has done a really good job of preparing us for conference play and the hostile environment we're going to face this weekend. It has to remain about us and staying focused on the task at hand instead of where we're playing or who we're playing. Belmont is a great example of a team who plays like that, they're very disciplined."
Owls freshman Delbert Love- On getting ready for his first conference game: "I'm learning from my teammates about what it's like to play in a conference game, they've been filling me in and i'm really excited. We're getting closer every day to being where we need to be as a team. It's easy to tell by the way we play together on the court that we're becoming more of a team."
Love- On his recent effectiveness as both a shooter and passer: "We're all really just feeding off of one another, and we know when our teammates are shooting well. A lot of it has been following the direction of our coaches and running the plays they have called for us. I'm still learning about taking better shots and being more selective."
All-Time Series: Belmont Leads, 10-2
Last Owls victory: 1/24/08- Owls 81, Belmont 79 (Kennesaw, Ga.)
About Belmont:
-The Bruins feature four players that are currently averaging in double figures in sophomore J.J. Mann, juniors Kerron Johnson (13.6 ppg), and Ian Clark (10.6), and senior Mick Hedgepeth (10.0).
-2011-12 will mark the final season in the A-Sun for the Bruins, as they are slated to join the Ohio Valley Conference next year.
-Rick Byrd’s squad was picked by the media and A-Sun coaches to repeat as conference regular season and tournament champions, after returning four starters and 10 letterwinners from a 30-win team that saw 11 players average double digit minutes.
-Belmont is currently ranked No. 6 in the Mid-Major Top-25.
