GAME NO. 9
DATE: Dec. 16
TIME: 4:00 p.m.
SITE: KSU Convocation Center (4,600)
LOCATION: Kennesaw, Ga.
LIVE VIDEO: asun.neulion.com/asun/console
LIVE AUDIO: KSUOwls.com
LIVE STATS KSUOwls.com
SERIES RECORD Charlotte leads, 1-0
LAST MEETING: Jan. 18, 2012; Charlotte, 74-63
Kennesaw State Game Notes | Charlotte Game Notes
TICKETS | PROMOTIONS
GAME TIME:
• The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team plays its final home non-conference game of the season when it hosts Charlotte at the KSU Convocation Center on Sunday (Dec. 16) beginning at 4 p.m.
• Charlotte marks the lone Atlantic 10 Conference opponent on the Owls’ 2012-13 schedule.
• The Kennesaw State-Charlotte game will be broadcast live on the internet at Asun.tv with a live audio broadcast available at www.ksuowls.com.
• Kennesaw State returns to the court following a two-week layoff for final exams. The Owls were last in action on Dec. 1 when they suffered a 65-63 setback at UT Martin.
• The Owls seek their second win of the season. Their lone victory was a 67-65 overtime triumph at South Carolina State on Nov. 12.
• Charlotte enters Sunday’s contest with a 9-1 record and is coming off a 77-46 loss at Miami on Friday.
• Kennesaw State plays nine of its 12 non-conference games on the road. The Owls are home for games against Georgia Southern (Nov. 21), Chattanooga (Nov. 24) and Charlotte (Dec. 16).
• Head Coach Lewis Preston is in his second season guiding the Kennesaw State program after spending the previous three seasons (2008-11) as an assistant coach at Penn State.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS:
• Kennesaw State Athletics has several promotions scheduled for Sunday’s game against Charlotte. They include:
• A visit by Santa Claus where children will have the opportunity to have their photos taken.
• A Teddy Bear Toss. Fans bringing a teddy bear to the game can purchase a ticket for $5 and have the opportunity to toss the teddy bear on to the court at halftime. The bears will be picked up by athletics department staff and delivered to a local chartity.
• The game also has been designated as the Junior Owls Reading Program Appreciation Day.
• Students from Lockheed Elementary School will sing the National Anthem.
CHARLOTTE SERIES HISTORY:
• Sunday’s contest marks the second meeting between Kennesaw State and Charlotte in a series that began last season. The 49ers claimed the intital meeting, defeating the Owls 74-63 at Halton Arena on Jan. 18, 2012.
KENNESAW STATE-CHARLOTTE SERIES RESULTS
Date, Site, Result
Jan. 18, 2012, Charlotte, N.C., L, 74-63
THE LAST TIME VERSUS CHARLOTTE
• In the lone meeting between the two programs, forward DeMario Mayfield led a group of three Charlotte players in double figures, scoring 25 points to lead the 49ers to a 74-63 victory on Jan. 18, 2012. Javarris Barnett and Chris Braswell each contributed 13 points in the victory.
• Kennesaw State freshman guard Delbert Love led all players with a game-high 26 points. Junior forward Markeith Cummings and senior guard Spencer Dixon scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Owls.
• Kennesaw State led 34-33 at halftime before being outscored 41-29 in the second half as the 49ers shot 47.4 percent (9-for-19) from the field and made 20 of 32 free throw attempts during the final 20 minutes.
• The Owls were 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) from the field in the second half and 4-for-7 from free throw line.
A LOOK AT CHARLOTTE:
• Charlotte is 9-1 on the season and is off to its best start in program history. The 49ers are coming off a 77-46 loss to Miami on Friday.
• Senior forward Chris Braswell leads Charlotte in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (6.9).
• The 49ers are averaging 68.9 points a game while allowing 61.7 points a contest and holding +5 rebounding advantage.
• Head coach Alan Major is in his third season leading the Charlotte program and has compiled an overall record to date of 32-38 (.457).
• The 49ers concluded the 2011-12 season with a 13-17 overall record, including a 5-11 mark and tie for 11th place in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
NEXT UP:
• The Owls open a three-game road trip when they travel to South Bend, Ind., to take on No. 22/24 Notre Dame at Purcell Pavilion on Wednesday, Dec. 19 beginning at 7p.m. The game will mark the return to Notre Dame for Kennesaw State head Coach Lewis Preston who spent six seasons (2001-06) as an assistant under Irish heah coach Mike Brey.
• Kennesaw State also will play at IPFW (Dec. 21) and Pittsburgh (Dec. 23) before taking seven days off for the Christmas break.
UT MARTIN RECAP:
• Junior guard Justin Childs made a layup with 6.8 seconds remaining to give UT Martin a 65-63 home victory over Kennesaw State at the Elam Center on Dec. 1 in Martin., Tenn. The Skyhawks (3-5) twice rallied from 10-point deficits – once in each half – to hand the Owls (1-7) their most heartbreaking loss of the season.
• The late comeback by UT Martin overshadowed a strong effort by senior forward Aaron Anderson who recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Senior forward Markeith Cummings scored a team-high 17 points while sophomore guard Delbert Love added 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for Kennesaw State.
• After trailing 33-29 at halftime, Kennesaw State started the second half strong. Sparked by their defensive pressure, the Owls went on a 28-14 run to take a 57-47 lead with 8:15 remaining. KSU forced six turnovers and received several big offensive rebounds by Anderson that helped build the lead.
• The Owls led by as many as eight points with 4:04 remaining following a layup by Love. However, UT Martin, aided by two Kennesaw State turnovers, went on an 8-0 run to tie the score at 61-61 following a three-point play by Myles Taylor with 1:14 remaining.
• After Cummings and Myles Taylor traded baskets to knot the score at 63-63 with :42 remaining, Kennesaw State had an opportunity to take the lead, but a turnover by Cummings with :06 left allowed UT Martin an opportunity to win the game.
MARKEITH CUMMINGS BECOMES KSU’S ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER:
• Senior forward Markeith Cummings scored 13 points against Towson on Sunday (Nov. 18) to become Kennesaw State’s all-time leading scorer with 1,693 career points. Cummings surpassed Herman Smith (1986-90) who concluded his Owls’ career with 1,683.
• The Owls’ senior forward currently has 1,750 career points and is No. 2 all-time with a 17.2 points-per-game average.
OWLS AMONG A-SUN CONFERENCE LEADERS
• Senior forward Markeith Cummings currently ranks third in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 18.4 points per game.
• Senior forward Aaron Anderson tops the A-Sun in field goal percentage (62.7 percent) and rebounding (8.4).
• Sophomore guard Delbert Love leads the A-Sun in minutes played (36.5) and is fourth in assists (3.6).
• Freshman guard Myles Hamilton ranks second in the A-Sun with 2.3 steals a contest.
• Markeith Cummings’ 31 points scored against Radford (11/17) ties the highest single-game output by an Atlantic Sun Conference player. USC Upstate’s Torrey Craig scored 31 points versus Texas San Antonio (12/8).
FRESHMEN SEE SIGNIFICANT PLAYING TIME:
• The Kennesaw State roster includes five freshmen and all making contributions. Guards Myles Hamilton and Yonel Brown are both averaging over 20 minutes a contest. Hamilton has come off the bench in each game and is averaging 23.6 minutes a game while Brown has started all seven games and is playing 25.3 minutes a contest.
AARON ANDERSON NAMED A-SUN PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
• Senior forward Aaron Anderson (Tucson, Ariz. / Central Arizona College) was named the Atlantic Sun Conference’s Player of the Week (Nov. 13) after averaging 14 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games at Tennessee (11/9) and at South Carolina State (11/12).
• A first time recipient of the award, Anderson scored game-high totals of 16 points and 12 rebounds versus the Volunteers and followed that performance with 12 points and 11 rebounds against the Bulldogs.
KENNESAW STATE SIGNS JONES DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD:
• Continuing to build for the future, head coach Lewis Preston signed local product Jordan Jones to a national letter-of-intent earlier this week.
• Jones is a 6-8, 205-pound combo forward who will play his senior season at nearby Saint Francis High in Alpharetta. He averaged 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks a game while helping Furtah Prep (Acworth, Ga.) to an undefeated regular season.
• Jones earned first team All-Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) honors and was selected to play in the Under Armour Grind Session in Atlanta last June. The event features many of the top high school prospects in the region and focusses on skill development and concludes with games.
NICE TO MEET YOU:
• Kennesaw State has seven first-time opponents on its schedule in 2012-13. In addition to Tennessee, the Owls will play Eastern Kentucky (Nov. 16), Radford (Nov. 17), Towson (Nov. 18), Georgia Southern (Nov. 21), IPFW (Dec. 21) and Pittsburgh (Dec. 23) for the first time.
EIGHT NEWCOMERS ADDED TO ROSTER:
• Second-year head coach Lewis Preston has added eight newcomers to the program in 2012-13.
• The group includes freshmen Yonel Brown (Lawrenceville, Ga. / Berkmar HS), Myles Hamilton (Cleveland, Ohio / St. Edward HS), Cole Hobbs (Atlanta, Ga. / Greater Atlanta Christian School), Jordan Montgomery (Orlando, Fla. / Orlando Christian Prep), Bernard Morena (Abidjan, Ivory Coast / Auburn) and Nigel Pruitt (Potomac, Md. / Bullis School)
• Junior Kris Drees (Cumming, Ga. / West Forsyth HS) joined the team this fall after making the club as a walk-on, while sophomore Willy Kouassi (Abidjan, Ivory Coast / Auburn) is a highly-regarded transfer.
RECRUITING WINNERS:
• The duo of Cole Hobbs and Jordan Montgomery combined to help their high school teams claim four state titles and one runner-up finish.
• Hobbs played a key role in helping Greater Atlanta Christian School to the 2011 Georgia state title
•Montgomery sparked his Orlando Christian Prep squad to three Florida state titles, and a runner-up finish in 2011.
KENNESAW STATE ROSTER REVIEW:
• Kennesaw State returns five letter winners from last year’s club that posted a 3-28 overall record. The list of returnees includes seniors Aaron Anderson, Markeith Cummings, juniors Brandon Dawson and Andrew Osemhen (Loganville, Ga. / Grayson HS) and sophomore Delbert Love.
• The trio of Cummings, Anderson and Love accounted for 58.5 percent of Kennesaw State’s points during the 2011-12 season.
• Kennesaw State’s roster includes two seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.
• The Owls 13-man roster entered the season with a combined 11 years of Division I collegiate experience, an average of 0.85 years per player. It ranks as the sixth-youngest team in the country.
PRESEASON HONORS:
• Senior forward Markeith Cummings, a three-time second team all-conference selection, was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason all-conference team.
2012-13 A-Sun Preseason All-Conference Team
Pos Name Class School
G Sherwood Brown Sr. Florida Gulf Coast
F Glenn Powell Sr. Jacksonville
F Markeith Cummings Sr. Kennesaw State
F Jakob Gollon Sr. Mercer
PG Langston Hall Jr. Mercer
G Jerron Grannberry Sr. North Florida
G Parker Smith Sr. North Florida
C Adam Pegg Sr. Stetson
F Torrey Craig Jr. USC Upstate
G Ty Greene So. USC Upstate
CLIMBING THE CHARTS:
• Senior forward Markeith Cummings is Kennesaw State’s all-time scoring leader with 1,750 points.
• Cummings also ranks first all-time in rebounds (546) since Kennesaw State became a Division I program in 2005.
• Cummings is the all-time KSU leader in free throws made (447) and free throws attempted (657).
• Cummings also ranks No. 2 in points-per-game (17.2), field goals made (615) and field goal attempts (1,344).
• Cummings holds the top two single season marks for free throws made (158 in 2010-11 and 134 in 2009-10).
• Senior Aaron Anderson holds the KSU Division I school career field goal percentage record of 54.5 percent (243-446).
• Anderson is second in the KSU Division I era with 540 rebounds and rebounds-per-game with 7.7 boards.
A LOOK AT THE 2012-13 SCHEDULE:
• The Kennesaw State schedule includes three teams that are receiving preseason national attention. Notre Dame began the year ranked No. 22 by the Associated Press and No. 23 in the
USA Today Coaches Poll.
• Both Tennessee and Pittsburgh are receiving votes in the Associated Press and
USA Today Coaches polls.
• The Owls’ schedule includes five teams (Tennessee, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Mercer, USC Upstate) that advanced to postseason play during the 2011-12 season.
• Notre Dame reached the NCAA Tournament, while Tennessee advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, and Pittsburgh won the College Basketball Invitational Tournament.
• A-Sun Conference rivals Mercer and USC Upstate participated in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament, with the Mercer Bears capturing the title.
A NEW-LOOK A-SUN CONFERENCE:
• The Atlantic Sun Conference will have a new look to it in 2012-13. Belmont, who has captured the last two conference titles, and five of the last seven, left the league to join the Ohio Valley Conference.
• Northern Kentucky, a consistent postseason participant at the NCAA Division II level and dominant force in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, begins its first year in Division I and as a member of the A-Sun Conference.
2011-12 YEAR IN REVIEW:
• The 2011-12 season marked a challenging year for first-year head coach Lewis Preston and the Owls as Kennesaw State posted a 3-28 overall record and went 0-18 in A-Sun Conference play.
• The Owls recorded a 65-59 victory at Chattanooga on Nov. 18, 2011, to reward Preston with his first collegiate win.
•Junior forward Markeith Cummings was a second team A-Sun all-conference selection and rookie guard Delbert Love was a unanimous selection to the conference’s all-freshman team.
• Junior forward Markeith Cummings led the Owls in scoring and ranked second in the A-Sun after averaging 15.4 points a game. Cummings produced 25 double-digit scoring games and led the team in scoring 12 times.
•Junior forward Aaron Anderson led the A-Sun in rebounding after averaging 9.0 rebounds a game and contributed 8.9 points a contest. He scored in double-digits 15 times, had 14 double-digit rebounding games, and his 280 rebounds established an Owls’ Division I era single-season record.
• Freshman Delbert Love made an immediate in his first season with the Owls as he averaged 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals a contest. He started all 31 games and led all A-Sun Conference freshmen in scoring while averaging a team-high 36.5 minutes a game.
• Kennesaw State lost seven games by four points or less, including five of its last six.
PROGRAM HISTORY:
• The 2012-13 season marks the 28th year of basketball at Kennesaw State. The 1985-86 campaign marked the first season of Owls basketball and the team posted a 7-21 overall record, including a 6-12 mark in the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while competing as an NAIA member.
• Kennesaw State played nine seasons as an NAIA member, compiled a 146-143 (.505) all-time record and produced six winning seasons.
• Kennesaw State moved to the NCAA Division II level for the 1994-95 season and accumulated a 198-124 (.615) overall record in 11 years.
• Head Coach Tony Ingle led the Owls to their lone national championship in 2004 after the team compiled a program-best 35-4 (.897) record. Kennesaw State defeated Southern Indiana, 84-59, in the national championship game on March 27, 2004 in Bakersfield, Calif.
• Kennesaw State moved to the Division I level for the 2005-06 season and has compiled a 66-227 (.225) record in seven seasons. The Owls’ best year at the D-I level was the 2006-07 season when the club posted a 13-18 (.419) mark.
• Kennesaw State’s signature Division I win was an 80-63 victory over Georgia Tech before a KSU Convocation Center record-crowd of 4,784 on Nov. 15, 2011.
• Lewis Preston was named the fourth head coach in program history on April 16, 2011.
WHAT’S NEW?
• This past summer, the Kennesaw State Department of Athletics, as part of an overall re-branding initiative, signed a multi-year contract to have its 17 intercollegiate athletics teams outfitted in Adidas apparel and footwear.
• Kennesaw State Athletics also introduced a whole new family of logos that appear on team apparel, facilities and a re-designed www.ksuowls.com athletics website.
• The KSU Convocation Center also has a refurbished floor, sparkling new video board with sponsorship signage on the south end, a ribbon board on the north side under the hospitality suite, a new LED scorer’s table and media tables highlight the atmospheric changes to the seven-year old facility.
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY:
• Kennesaw State University is the third-largest university in Georgia, offering more than 80 graduate and undergraduate degrees, including doctorates in education, business and nursing and a new Ph.D in international conflict management. A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State is a comprehensive, residential institution with a growing student population of more than 24,600 from 130 countries.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
