By: KSU Sports Information
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Live Stats Game Notes
Coach Preston Pre-Game Interview
ATHENS, Ohio- The Kennesaw State Owls will look to win their second straight game on Friday evening, when they take on the Ohio Bobcats at the Convocation Center beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Listen Live: Live audio for Friday night’s game will be available, free of charge, on KSU All Access at
www.KSUOwls.com/Showcase . Jason Hanes and Scott Lipsky will provide all of the action. Live stats will also be available with CBS Gametracker.
About the Match-up: Friday night will mark the first time the Owls and Bobcats will have squared off against one another. The game is also the first for the Black and Gold against a team from Ohio since 1988, and their first-ever that they will play in the state of Ohio.
The Owls have played just one other game against a Mid American Conference opponent, falling, 82-74 at Western Michigan on Dec. 19, 2009.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is 1-2 this season against MAC teams.
Despite this being their first foray into competition against the Bobcats, the Owls come into Friday evening with several ties to their opponent:
-Owls assistant coach
Jimmy Lallathin spent four years in a variety of roles at Miami Ohio, a MAC rival of the Bobcats. Lallathin helped the Redhawks to a 5-5 record against Ohio during his time there.
-Owls sophomore
Nick Turner was and Bobcats junior
Walter Offutt both played their high school ball at Warren Central High School in Indianapolis, though they missed being teammates with one another by a year.
-Owls freshman
Delbert Love is a native of Cleveland, Ohio.
Owls head coach Lewis Preston on Friday evening:
“The challenge for us tomorrow night will be to see if we take another step forward from our win last week. Ohio is getting votes in the top-25 and it’s well-deserved; John Groce has done a great job of getting that program on the right track rather quickly. This is the last non-conference test for us before we start conference play. I want to see us get better defensively, see if we can share the ball, and continue to work on playing hard for a full 40 minutes. Any time you can win going into Christmas break like we did, it’s a big boost for your team. Now it’s a matter of seeing if we can get back to our winning ways right off the bat.”
Clamping Down on Defense: In the Owls, 69-65, win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Dec. 23, the Black and Gold held the Islanders to 42.4 percent shooting, the lowest percentage by an Owls Division I opponent this season. The solid defensive performance allowed the Owls to be victorious despite shooting just 34.0 percent from the field.
Ending the December Swoon: Last Friday’s win ended an 11-game losing streak for Kennesaw State in the month of December. Before their win over the Islanders, the Black and Gold were last victorious during the calendar year’s final month on Dec. 29, 2009, when they topped Fordham, 79-66.
Last Stop Before Home: Friday night’s game will be the Owls last of a string of eight straight games away from the KSU Convocation Center, all taking place in the month of December. The month has taken them to five different states in three different time zones, with total travel of just over 7,000 miles. The Owls return home next week for their first home games since Nov. 26 to play a pair of conference contests, beginning against Stetson on Monday, Jan. 2. The eight games away from the KSU Convocation Center matches their longest such stretch, with the Owls also playing eight straight contests away from their home floor between Nov. 30 and Dec. 30, 2006.
More Honors For Markeith: Owls junior
Markeith Cummings was named to the All A-Sun Pre-Conference Team by College Hoops Net this week. Cummings, the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year, currently leads the conference with 17.0 points per game.
The Iron Men: One constant for the Owls this season has been the consistent court presence of Love (36.1 mpg),
Spencer Dixon (35.8) and Cummings (33.1). Entering Wednesday, the trio rank first, second, and fifth in the A-Sun in minutes played, respectively. Love, for his part, played 192 out of a possible 200 minutes during the Owls recently concluded 11-day, five game road trip.
Friday’s Milestone Watch:
-Cummings is currently tied for fifth on the Owls all-time scoring list, and needs just six points on Friday evening to surpass Darrell Fowler (1985-88) for fourth place. He enters the game with 1,328 career points.
-
Aaron Anderson is six rebounds away from tying Jonathan Whipple (2006-10) for seventh place on the Owls all-time rebounds list. He enters the game with 302 career rebounds.
-Dixon is just two steals away from moving into a four-way tie for fourth on the program’s all-time steals list. His 147 career swipes are two short of the totals amassed by Columbus Ballard (1990-94), Israel Brown (1989-93), and Ed Womack (1999-02).
About the Bobcats:
-The Ohio Bobcats, led by fourth-year head coach
John Groce, come into Friday as one of the most highly-touted teams in the country outside of the Power Six conferences. They are currently receiving votes in both major Top 25 polls, and are ranked No. 8 in the most
recent mid-major Top 25.
-The Bobcats do not have one dominant scorer, but spread around their offense. A quartet of juniors,
D.J. Cooper, Offutt,
Reggie Keely and
Ivo Baltic, all enter Friday averaging double figures, led by Cooper’s 14.1 points per contest.
-Cooper was named the MAC East Division Player of the Week on Dec. 12 after recording a triple double at Portland on Dec. 10. He is the lone Bobcat to be named to the MAC East Division Preseason team.
-With their, 76-59, victory at Northern Iowa on Dec. 20, the Bobcats became the first team in the country this season to win five road games.
