By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
Postgame Notes
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Markeith Cummings scored 20 points to lead four Kennesaw State Owls in double figures, but the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles overcame three second half ties to pull away and defeat the Owls, 92-74, at Alico Arena in an Atlantic Sun Conference match-up.
The Owls (3-19, 0-10 A-Sun) battled back from a, 39-32, halftime deficit by scoring the first nine points of the second half to briefly take the lead and were tied, 47-47, with 12:35 remaining, before an 8-0 run by the Eagles (11-10, 6-4 A-Sun) would put them out in front for the rest of the contest.
“We did some things offensively that weren’t very smart tonight, and we didn’t communicate well on defense. When you’re playing a good shooting team like we were tonight, you’re going to pay a price for those kind of things, and we definitely paid a price with the outcome,” Owls head coach Lewis Preston said. “I liked how my starting five and my first guy off the bench performed tonight, we just need to work on getting more out of the rest of our rotation. We’re going to continue to get better and get ready for Stetson on Monday.”
Despite the final result, the Black and Gold were in the contest for the long haul, as they were out in front for the first 7:44 of the contest and didn't trail by double digits until there were less than nine minutes left in the second half. The momentum first swung strongly in the direction of the Eagles towards the end of the first half, when, trailing, 36-32, with 15 seconds left before halftime, the Owls took the ball down the floor, presumably for the last shot of the half. Spencer Dixon would miss on a runner from the right side with five seconds still on the clock, and FGCU's Bernard Thompson would throw up a heave at halfcourt from the buzzer that would fall, giving them a seven-point cushion heading into the locker room.
It was right after halftime that they made their serious push to steal one on the road, scoring nine straight points to open up the half and take a, 41-39, lead, with 16:04 to go. They would open things up by having Delbert Love find Aaron Anderson underneath for an easy layup for one of his seven assists on the night, and the next time down the floor, Anderson would return the favor, dishing it to Love on the outside, who would drain one of his three threes on the evening to pull within two points. Love would make another about a minute and a half later to tie things up before Anderson got in on the passing game again, finding Cummings for a mid-range jumper that would put the Black and Gold out in front for one last time.
In the end, however, it would be the hot long-range shooting of Filip Cvjeticanin and point guard play of Brett Comer that would seal the result for the hosts. With the game tied at 47, Comer would make back-to-back layups to give FGCU the lead for the good. A few minutes later, with the Eagles leading, 60-51, with 7:51 remaining, Comer would find Cvjeticanin, who was 5-for-6 on the evening from three point range, in the left corner for a trey that would put the Owls by double digits the rest of the night. Comer would find Cvjeticanin again the next time down the floor, to make it 66-51.
Kennesaw State had several bright spots in a second half that would be mainly remembered for FGCU shooting 15-for-24 from the floor to eventually pull away from the visitors. Lewis Preston's squad hauled in 11 of their 14 offensive rebounds in the second half, turning them into 11 second chance points. Anderson, who was 7-for-9 from the field on the night, would go 5-for-6 after the break, ensuring his A-Sun leading eighth double-double of the season. They also capitalized on the six FGCU turnovers they forced in the second half, turning them into 15 points.
Just as they did in the second half, the Owls got off to a good start right after tip-off, scoring the first five points of the game. Cummings started things off by connecting on his first and only three-point attempt of the evening, and would then steal the ball on the other end to set-up a Love layup that made it 5-0.
Cummings scored 20 points to lead all scorers, and he was complemented by Dixon (17 points), Love (16), and Anderson (15), who had 11 rebounds on the evening for his third straight double-double. It was the 11th double-digit rebound game of the season for him, also the most in the conference.
The Eagles had six players in double figures on their way to shooting 60.4 percent from the field, and were led by Cvjeticanin's 17 points.
The Owls return to action on Monday evening when they face the Stetson Hatters at 7:00 p.m.
