By: by Scott Lipsky
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Game Notes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Kennesaw State Owls continue their quest for a berth in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on Friday evening when they take on the Jacksonville Dolphins at JVM Arena at 7:15 p.m.
The Owls (8-18, 6-10 A-Sun) are coming off of a tough, 57-55, loss on the road to Mercer on Monday evening, and find themselves a half game in front of Campbell in seventh place in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings. The top eight eligible teams at the end of the season get a spot in the conference tournament, of which the winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
With four games to go, the Black and Gold find themselves with a challenging schedule in front of them, as they face the third-place Dolphins (17-8, 11-5 A-Sun) on Friday evening and then North Florida on Sunday afternoon, who is currently a game ahead of the Owls in sixth place. They then return home next weekend to face conference-leading Belmont and fourth place Lipscomb to conclude the regular season.
For Owls senior captain Kelvin McConnell, the time is now to make a move and solidify their spot in the conference postseason.
“It’s definitely crunch time for us, we need to dig down and play like a team and make sure we do what we need to do to be in a good position to succeed in the conference tournament,” said McConnell, who passed the 1,000-point mark for his career on Feb. 10 in the Owls home win over Florida Gulf Coast. “We’re focusing on the little things right now. Playing hard on defense consistently for an entire possession, converting rebound opportunities, those are the things that we need to improve, but we’re ready to go.”
On Monday evening, it was one particular stretch on the defensive boards that quite possible cost the Owls the game. Tied at 53 with 2:50 to go, Mercer had a possession that consisted of three offensive rebounds off of misses followed by a basket that allowed them to re-take the lead with less than a minute. The Black and Gold would tie it one more time, but they missed out on a key chance to take the lead.
Despite the late struggle on the boards, Kennesaw State did out-rebound Mercer 36-31, the fourth straight time they beat their opponent on the glass, after doing so just five times in their first 22 games. Owls sophomore LaDaris Green has been a crucial part of that effort, having posted five consecutive double-doubles and continuing to be the leading rebounder in the A-Sun at 8.3 per game entering Friday.
Their improved play on the glass will be critical if they are to be successful against Jacksonville, who currently leads the conference in rebounding. The Dolphins have won three out of their last four games, most recently winning at USC Upstate, 79-69 on Sunday.
While their leading scorer, senior Ayron Hardy, is at a modest 12.5 points per game, the Dolphins are not to be taken lightly, the Owls saw that first hand the last time the two teams met, on Jan. 22 at the KSU Convocation Center. The Black and Gold struggled out of the gate, missing their first five shots from the field, allowing Jacksonville to immediately jump out to a 12-0 lead. While they played the Dolphins close in the second half, being outscored just 43-42, the fast start by Jacksonville put them in a hole they were unable to climb out of, falling, 87-59.
The Owls will be looking to win their first road game against Jacksonville since Feb. 5, 2006, and their first against the Dolphins overall since Jan. 13, 2007.
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.
