By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
Postgame Notes
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Markeith Cummings matched his season-high with 27 points on Monday evening, as the Kennesaw State Owls brought it down to the wire once again before a last-second three-point attempt went amiss, sending them to a, 73-71, defeat at the Jacksonville Dolphins at Swisher Gymnasium.
The Owls (3-26, 0-16 Atlantic Sun Conference) trailed through the second half, but steadily drew closer to the Dolphins (8-20, 6-11 A-Sun) after being behind, 38-29, at halftime and trailing by as many as 15 points in the first half. They were down, 72-64, with 2:19 to go when a Romain Henry three made it a five-point contest. Henry would step up again less than a minute later, driving into the lane uncontested for a layup to make it a, 73-70, contest with 1:23 left.
After a Markeith Cummings free throw made it, 73-71, the Owls would get a stop on the defensive end with 7.4 seconds to go, giving them a chance to win or tie it. Henry received the ball from the left corner with about two seconds to go but his three point try would sail over the rim, ending the game.
"Spencer (Dixon) is such a threat, I knew when he had the ball and starting driving into the paint, I knew that extra defenders would collapse on him, it was my job to give him an outlet to pass the ball in case that happened, and it did," Henry commented after the game. "He threw me a great pass, I was able to pump fake the defender that on me, and I had a wide open shot, it was just a little long, probably because of all of the adrenaline that was pumping since it was so close down the stretch. We all played really well to get in that position and I just wish I could have knocked it down for my teammates."
Kennesaw State shot a scorching hot 11-for-17 from the floor in the second half after going 11-for-30 in the first half, and made 18 free throws during the second half to keep it close. They pulled to within five points on five occasions in the second half before finally pulling to within 72-68 on a Cummings layup with 5:48 to go.
The Owls trailed for the final 38:31 of the contest, with the Dolphins slowly but surely extending their lead throughout the first half. They were up, 18-13, with 12;30 to go before halftime when they embarked on a, 9-0, run, the Owls missing all four of their shot attempts over the next 4:23 to fall behind by 14.
A pair of Cummings free throws would make it a, 27-15, contest, but it wasn't until a Dixon layup with 7:32 to go in the half that the Owls ended a drought of 5:15 without a field goal. Jacksonville's Jake Giesler would answer right back with a three that would give the Dolphins their largest lead of the game. The Black and Gold would regain their shooting touch for the rest of the half, making five of their last eight shots in the half from that point forward to put themselves within single digits of the home team.
Aaron Anderson had his 11
th double-double of the season and his second straight, scoring 11 points while grabbing 11 rebounds. Spencer Dixon added 17 points for the Owls, snatching four steals.
Jacksonville was led by Aloys Cabell, the reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week, scoring 24 points as one of four Dolphins to score in double figures. Tevin Galvin had 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Monday night marked the final road contest for the Owls during the 2011-12 campaign. They return home for their final two games of the season later this week, starting with a 7:00 p.m. match-up against the Belmont Bruins at the KSU Convocation Center.
