By: by Scott Lipsky
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MACON, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls will try to win their fourth straight game for the first time this season on Tuesday evening when they visit the Mercer Bears at the University Center at 7 p.m.
The Owls (8-17, 6-9 A-Sun) will try to continue their strong play, which has included dramatic finishes to their last two games. Most recently, they relied on a LaDaris Green tip-in as time expired to beat the Stetson Hatter, 67-65, on Saturday, and it took a step-back three-pointer from Spencer Dixon with less than four seconds remaining in the game to defeat Florida Gulf Coast, 69-68, on Thursday evening.
Close or not, the wins have catapulted the Black and Gold into the thick of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament picture, as they currently sit alone in seventh place, just a half game behind North Florida for sixth place and one and a half games in front of Stetson and Campbell for the eighth and final spot. With their win over Stetson on Saturday, they swept the season series against the Hatters, giving them the tie-breaker should the two end the season tied in the conference standings.
Most encouraging for the Owls has been the emergence of Green over the last several games. Already one of the top players in head Coach Tony Ingle’s rotation, Green has taken his game to another level over the last two weeks, having recorded four consecutive double-doubles. His contributions have been especially felt on the offensive glass, where he combined for 17 offensive rebounds in the last two games to help the Owls score 31 second-chance points, a big reason why they were able to get past the Eagles and Hatters. The sophomore comes into Tuesday leading the A-Sun at 8.1 rebounds per game and third with 1.83 blocks per contest.
The Owls dropped their first meeting with Mercer (11-15, 8-7 A-Sun) this season, a 78-70 decision at the KSU Convocation Center on Jan. 25. Markeith Cummings, who leads the A-Sun in scoring at 17.9 points per game, had 23 for the Owls to lead all scorers, but the Bears were led by Brandon Moore with 22 points and Brian Mills with 21, as Mercer had 17 second-chance points to the Owls six in the victory, despite the Black and Gold shooting a season-high 54.9 percent.
Unfortunately for Mercer, they will be playing without Moore, one of their seniors, who went down with an injury on Jan. 31 against East Tennessee State. The Bears have been playing some of their best basketball of late, however, having won three games in a row and four out of their last five. Their three latest wins have all been by 10 points or more, most recently a 74-61 triumph over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday. Their hot streak has come despite shooting just 41.9 percent over their last six games.
Mills, a senior, is their leading active scorer, currently ranking fifth in the A-Sun with 15.2 points per game.
Mercer comes into Tuesday holding a slim, 6-5 advantage in the all-time series, with the Owls ironically holding a 3-2 edge in their series at the University Center.
The Owls have a 4-3 record overall at the University Center. In addition to their five games against Mercer, they also competed in last year’s Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament held at Mercer, when they beat Lipscomb and fell to East Tennessee State.
The last two seasons have a resulted in a series sweep by one of the teams; the Owls winning both contests last season and the Bears the year prior. The two teams split their first three season series against one another since the rivalry began with the Owls entrance into the A-Sun in 2005.
Tuesday 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. Live stats will also be available.
