By: KSU Sports Information
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Game Notes
LAS VEGAS- The Kennesaw State Owls wrap up their five-game, 11-day road trip Thursday and Friday with two games in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic at Orleans Arena. The Black and Gold take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. EST and either Bethune Cookman or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday.
Two Days Will Wrap up Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic: Thursday and Friday will the Owls third and fourth games in the eight-team Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic. Their first two games were played on campus sites, where the Owls fell to Missouri State, 78-55 on Saturday and Saint Mary’s, 74-51, on Monday.
Listen Live to Both Games: Thursday’s match-up against the Golden Eagles will be aired live on KSU All Access, available at
www.KSUOwls.com/Showcase, beginning at 5:15 p.m. EST. Friday’s game will be available on KSU All Access, as well, beginning 15 minutes prior to tip-off. Audio is free all season long, live and on-demand.
Live stats will also be available for both games at CBSSports.com.
Friday’s Opponent, Game Time to Be Determined: The Owls (2-8) and Golden Eagles (6-5) play at 5:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, following the 2:00 p.m. match-up between Bethune Cookman and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The two losing teams will play one another at 3:00 p.m. EST, with the two winning teams squaring off at 5:30 p.m. EST.
A Familiar Face on One of the Sidelines: Should the Owls take on Bethune Cookman on Friday, they will be facing on of their former assistant coaches in Montez Robinson. Robinson joined the Wildcats’ staff this fall after spending the last six seasons on the Owls’ bench.
The Owls Against Their Foes: Las Vegas will bring a new set of opponents to the table against the Black and Gold, as they have never faced Tennessee Tech, Bethune Cookman or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in their history. Tennessee Tech plays out of the Ohio Valley Conference, with the Owls holding a 2-2 record against the OVC. The Black and Gold are 1-2 against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, the league Bethune Cookman plays out of, and 1-2 all-time against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Southland Conference.
Consistency in the Starting Lineup: Owls head coach Lewis Preston has started Aaron Anderson, Markeith Cummings, Spencer Dixon and Delbert Love in each of the last five games, but has tended to rotate players in and out of that fifth starting spot. However, Mirza Sabic has gotten the nod in the starting lineup in each of the last two contests.
Love Continues to Lead: Owls freshman guard Delbert led the Owls in scoring on Monday evening, making four three-point baskets in his 12-point performance. The freshman had dropped a game-high 27 points last Thursday night at Missouri, the most points scored by any player against the unbeaten Tigers so far this season.
Owls Senior Spencer Dixon:
On What the Owls hope to accomplish as a team in Las Vegas: “We really want to make sure we do everything we can to come out with two wins this week and end the road trip on a high note. The key for us is to execute our game plan and remain confident in our abilities. We know we can get done what we need to get done if we play within ourselves and stay disciplined."
On The defense having struggled as of late: “I know it hasn’t shown in the box score, but we are definitely taking small steps every night in terms of our defensive progress. Saint Mary’s shot well against us, but we had several possessions in which we played very solid defense for 30-32 seconds before they made a play, and that hurt us. We need to play 35 seconds of defense if that is what the situation calls for. Most importantly, we can’t allow our opponents to have second chance opportunities, that has hurt us more than anything and it is something we are paying close attention to as a team.”
Double Digit Streak Snapped: Markeith Cummings shot just 3-for-12 on Monday evening on the way to tallying just seven points, snapping a nine-game streak in which the junior had scored in double figures. Cummings has scored 10 or more points in 69 out of his 73 career appearances with the Owls.
He’s on Pace: Owls senior guard Spencer Dixon enters Thursday having played in 103 career games. Were he to play in all of the Owls remaining 21 regular season games, he would eclipse the Owls all-time career games played record, which is currently held by Dixon’s former teammate Kelvin McConnell, who made 123 appearances for the Black and Gold from 2007-11.
About The Opponents:
Tennessee Tech: Like the Owls, Tennessee Tech is in the middle of a long stretch away from home. Thursday will mark the third of six straight games on the road for the Golden Eagles, a team that most recently fell to West Virginia, 72-53 to snap a three-game winning streak that included triumphs over the Owls Atlantic Sun Conference rivals East Tennessee State and Lipscomb. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish second in the Ohio Valley Conference in the preseason, with seniors Zac Swansey and Kevin Murphy picked as preseason all-conference selections. Murphy has lived up to expectations, averaging 19.3 points per game coming into Thursday, while junior Judd Dillard has been a solid second option, averaging 16.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per contest.
Bethune Cookman: The Wildcats come into Las Vegas carrying a 3-9 overall record, most recently falling to Stanford, 75-56. They have been led in the scoring to this point by seniors Anthony Breeze (13.1 ppg) and Garrius Holloman (10.9 ppg). The defending the MEAC regular season champions, they made an appearance in the 2011 NIT and are now rebuilding under first-year head coach Gravelle Craig.
Texas A&M Corpus-Christi: Similar to the Owls and Wildcats, the Islanders are under the tutelage of new head coach Willis Wilson, and are still adjusting to the new leadership, as they currently hold a 1-8 record. Having dropped their last six contests, most recently a, 66-53, decision at Missouri State on Monday, the Islanders are led by junior Terence Jones and senior Chris Hawkins-Mast, who are averaging 14.1 and 11.9 points per game, respectively.
