By: KSU Sports Information
Box Score
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Postgame and Post-Season Notes
KENNESAW, Ga . – The Kennesaw State Owls fell just short in their 2011-12 season finale on Saturday evening, dropping a, 74-71, decision to the Lipscomb Bison at the KSU Convocation Center. Spencer Dixon scored 21 points to tie for the game-high, while a Markeith Cummings three as time expired went in and out.
The Owls (3-28, 0-18 Atlantic Sun Conference) took a seven point lead into halftime after going on a 16-6 run to close out the half, and would regain the lead after falling behind by as many as seven points to the Bison (13-17, 8-10 A-Sun) in the second half. Their, 53-52, advantage with 10:32 to play, however, would be their last lead of the night, as Lipscomb would go on a 7-0 run to jump ahead for the balance of the game.
“I want to tip my hat to Lipscomb, the way they came out over the course of the first 20 minutes, we really should have been up by 15 or 16 points, but they were able to take advantage of our miscues and stay in it,” Owls head coach Lewis Preston said. “I thought our guys started out playing like they had nothing to lose, but they reverted to things that are not customary to the team game, and that’s one of the big reasons we fell short tonight, and it’s not the type of basketball that we expect here at Kennesaw State.”
Kennesaw State made 11 three-point baskets during the contest, but struggled defensively during the last 20 minutes, allowing Lipscomb to shoot 56.7 percent from the floor in the second half and score 26 points in the paint during the period. The Bison’s Malcolm Smith scored 14 of his 21 points after halftime.
Preston’s squad took advantage of Lipscomb’s slow start, jumping out to leads of 5-0 and 10-4 despite going just 4-for-9 from the field over the first 4:48. Aaron Anderson and Dixon excited the crowd less than two minutes in, when the senior found the high-flying Anderson for an alley-oop jam for the second basket of the game.
The Bison, who came into the evening with not much on the line, as they had already locked up the No. 7 seed in next week’s Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament, missed their first five attempts from the floor during the first 6:18.
They would fall behind the Owls by as many as eight points during the early part of the first half before embarking on a, 17-6, run to take their first lead of the game with 6:13 left before halftime. Dixon would grab the lead back for the Black and Gold with back-to-back threes, to put them out in front, 27-24, an advantage they would not relinquish until several minutes into the second half.
Dixon, playing in his final game as an Owl, was 5-for-8 from three point range on a night in which he broke the program’s career games played record, tallying 124 appearances with the Black and Gold. The Marietta, Ga., native also added six assists and seven rebounds in his collegiate finale.
“This wasn’t the way we wanted to go out, it’s hard to believe that it’s here. I love all of my teammates, and while the wins and losses didn’t go the way I wanted, I know that I’m leaving with this program having a very bright future,” said Dixon, who finishes his career seventh on the Owls all-time scoring list with 1,329 points. “Compared to when I got here, our fan base has grown, we have a lot of good players wanting to play here, and I’m proud that I was a part of the beginning of that, I’m proud to say that I’ll be a Kennesaw State alumni.”
Dixon was joined in double figures by Delbert Love (13 points), Cummings (12) and Aaron Anderson (10), who had a game-high eight rebounds. Malcolm Smith was one of four Bison in double figures.
Prior to the game, Dixon and the Owls other two departing seniors, Romain Henry and Brandon Sewell, were honored on the court for their time with the Black and Gold.
