By: by Scott Lipsky
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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls will try to win consecutive games for the third time this season on Thursday evening when they take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at 7:30 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center.
For the Owls (6-17, 4-9 A-Sun), every game is crucial at this point in the season, as teams are jockeying for spots in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, which will include the top-eight teams in the conference that are eligible for the postseason. The Black and Gold enter Thursday a half game out of the eighth and final spot, as Campbell and Stetson, two teams they have been victorious against this season, stand in a tie for seventh place at 5-9 in league play.
The strong play of the Owls talented sophomore duo in Markeith Cummings and LaDaris Green has been crucial to the team’s success. Cummings, who had a season-high 31 points in the Owls, 78-64, victory over Campbell on Monday evening, has averaged 19.8 points per game in Kennesaw State’s wins this season, and while still extremely impressive, his scoring has dipped to 17.2 points per contest during games in which they have lost.
Green recorded his sixth double-double on Monday evening, posting 10 points and 13 rebounds and also recording four blocks in the win. He enters Thursday evening as the A-Sun’s leader in rebounding at 7.8 boards per game, and has averaged 10.2 during the last four contests. His contributions on the glass of late have given the Owls a big boost, as they have out-rebounded their opponents just six times this season.
The Black and Gold have also made major strides statistically in field goal percentage defense over their last two games. While they enter Thursday 11th in the conference in that category, allowing opponents to shoot 47.1 percent against them this season, they held Campbell to just 41 percent from the floor on Monday evening, and, despite being defeated at USC Upstate on Jan. 31, 59-54, they held the Spartans to just 35 percent from the field in the close loss.
Florida Gulf Coast (6-16, 3-10 A-Sun) is also coming off of a win, a convincing, 70-38, victory over USC Upstate on Sunday, in which they shot 51 percent from the field and had four players score in double figures.
While the Eagles are in their fourth and presumably final year of NCAA Division I re-classification and are eligible for the postseason, they are still a pivotal part of the postseason equation for other conference members. Of their three wins in conference play this season, two of them have come in their home-and-home series against their traveling partner Stetson, one of the teams fighting for a spot in the A-Sun Tournament and who the Owls will host on Saturday evening.
In the two team’s last meeting, an 81-70, victory by the Owls in Fort Myers on Jan. 14, Cummings, who had 21 points, was joined in the scoring barrage by teammate Kelvin McConnell, who made a career-high six three-point baskets on his way to a game-high 22 points.
The Eagles were led by their top two scorers, freshman Christophe Varidel, who had 18 points and is averaging 11.4 points per game, and sophomore Anthony Banks, their leading scorer this season at 14.7 points per contest, who had 15 against the Owls.
The Owls lead the all-time series against the Eagles, 5-2, which began when FGCU moved up to the NCAA Division I ranks in 2007-08. In three visits to the KSU Convocation Center, the Owls have proven victorious over their guests on each occasion.
Thursday night’s game can be heard on Talk 920 AM and www.talk920.com, with play-by-play voice Craig Corbin and color analyst and Owls great Scott Webb calling the action. The Atlantic Sun Conference’s subscription video streaming service, Asun.tv, will carry the game live, with Mark Toma calling the play-by-play. Live stats will also be available.
The first 500 Kennesaw State students to arrive at Thursday night’s game will receive a pair of KSU sunglasses. Admission is free for all KSU students with a valid student ID. In addition, all Greek organizations on campus are encouraged to attend Thursday night’s game, with the organization that brings out the most members winning a prize courtesy of Kennesaw State athletics.
General admission tickets are 10 dollars for adults and six dollars for youth in eighth grade or younger.
