By: KSU Sports Information
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Coach Preston Pregame
KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State Owls play their first of three consecutive home games on Saturday afternoon, when they host the East Tennessee State Bucs at the KSU Convocation Center at 3 p.m.
The Owls (3-20, 0-11 Atlantic Sun Conference) come into Saturday looking to snap an 11-game slide, and will face an ETSU (11-10, 5-5 A-Sun) squad that has dropped their last three conference games, but is most recently coming off a win over James Madison on Monday evening.
The two squads last met on Jan. 9, with the visiting Owls leading, 31-23, at halftime before eventually falling, 73-69.
Come For the Women’s Game, Stick Around For the Men: Fans who attend Saturday’s Noon game between the Lady Owls and ETSU can upgrade their tickets for just two dollars and receive admission to the men’s game, as well. Tickets for the men’s game are 10 dollars for adults and six dollars for youth in eighth grade or younger. KSU students are admitted free to all KSU athletic events with a valid student ID.
Listen to All of the Action Live: All Kennesaw State Owls games during the 2011-12 season can be heard live and on-demand, free of charge, on KSU All Access at
www.KSUOwls.com/showcase. Live video streaming of Saturday’s action is available through the Atlantic Sun Conference’s subscription service, ASun.tv.
About the Match-Up:
All-Time Series: Bucs Lead, 12-1
Owls Record at the KSU Convocation Center: 1-4
The Last Time They Met: Jan. 9, 2012- John City, Tenn.- ETSU 73, Owls 69
Notable:
-The Owls led by as many as 11 points in the contest, and had the lead with 5:34 left in the contest before eventually falling short of nabbing their first A-Sun win of the season. They had a, 31-23, advantage over ETSU at halftime on the strength of holding the Bucs to 8-for-23 shooting before the break.
-Spencer Dixon scored 22 points to lead all scorers in the contest, while Sollazzo had 20, as one of five Bucs in double figures on the evening.
-The Owls were 24-for-48 from the floor on the night, and 10-for-21 from three-point range.
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Dixon had eight assists on Monday evening tied Delbert Love’s eight-dime performance vs. South Carolina State for the most in a game by an Owl this season.
About the Bucs:
-The Bucs snapped a three-game losing streak on Monday, taking down James Madison, 70-56 on their home court. Overall, they have dropped three straight Atlantic Sun Conference games, most recently dropping a, 58-54, decision at USC Upstate.
-ETSU is led by senior Adam Sollazzo, who is currently fourth in the A-Sun averaging 15.7 points per game. Their offensive attack is a balanced one, with four players averaging in double figures. Sollazzo is joined in that category by fellow seniors Isiah Brown (11.1) and Tommy Hubbard (10.8) and junior Marcus Dubose (10.3).
-Sollazzo is also one of the best in the conference when it comes to distributing the ball, as he is third in the A-Sun with 4.6 assists per game. As a team, however, the Bucs struggle in that category, as they average just 10.8 assists per contest, the lowest in the league.
-Junior Sheldon Cooley and Hubbard are among the tops in the A-Sun in steals coming into Saturday, with Colley leading the way among all of his peers at 2.5 steals per game, and Hubbard not far behind with 2.0.
-Their head coach, Murry Bartow, is in his ninth year with the Bucs, and currently has a 173-109 record in Johnson City.
Owls Sophomore Brandon Dawson:
On their result at ETSU on Jan. 9:
“We were really aggressive in the first half which gave us the lead, but we were too lax on both ends of the floor in the second half and let them back into the game. Being in front of our home crowd should help us keep up the level of energy that we need to beat a solid team like ETSU.”
On the progress the team has made:
“At times it may not look like it, but we’re really starting to feel more comfortable in our offense. Our coaches have worked really hard to make sure that we know where we need to be on the floor in certain situations, and being on the floor first-hand, we see that it’s starting to pay off.”
Delbert Does it All: Owls freshman Delbert Love showed his versatility this past weekat FGCU and Stetson, averaging 14.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.5 steals per contest. He enters Friday first in the A-Sun among freshman and 14th overall with 11.7 points per game.
They’ve Done it Here Before: The only time the Owls took down the Bucs in the series history was at the KSU Convocation Center on Jan. 12, 2006, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams, when the Black and Gold were victorious, 78-72, in overtime.
A Terrific Trio: Entering Friday, Markeith Cummings (16.1 ppg), Spencer Dixon (13.0 ppg) and Delbert Love (11.7 ppg) are the highest scoring trio in the A-Sun with a combined 40.8 points per contest. Cummings (5.3 rpg) also has his hand in another two-man act, as he and Aaron Anderson (9.3 rpg) and their 14.6 rpg are the most prolific rebounding teammates in the league.
Putting in Work in the Paint: The Owls were averaging 22.5 points in the paint heading into their Dec. 30 tilt at Ohio, but have since averaged 27.8 points in the paint per game, having out-performed or tied five of their last 10 opponents in the interior.
Aaron Continues to Deliver: Aaron Anderson had his fourth straight double-double on Monday evening at Stetson, dropping 13 points while hauling in 10 rebounds. The performance gave him his ninth double-double of the season and 12th double-digit rebounding game, both best in the A-Sun. As of Friday, he is ranked 40th in the nation with 9.3 rebounds per game.
Protecting the Ball: Kennesaw State heads into Saturday afternoon averaging just 14.2 turnovers per contest, the second lowest in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They have turned it over 12 times or less on 10 occasions this season.
The Elder Statesmen: Cummings and Dixon enter Monday ranked first and second among active A-Sun players in career points with 1,495 and 1,203, respectively. Dixon is the active career leader in steals (168) and third in assists (368), while Cummings is fourth in rebounds (472).
Owls Aren’t Seen Early in These Parts: Saturday’s 3:00 p.m. start will mark the earliest start time for an Owls home game since Senior Day in 2009, when the Owls hosted Lipscomb on Feb. 22.
Making Them Pay: The Owls have had 51 points off of turnovers over their last two games, easily the best two-game span in that category this season, with their 29 at Florida Gulf Coast last Saturday evening being a season-high.
Mirza Finds His Stroke: Owls junior Mirza Sabic has started to feel it from beyond the arc, having made at least one three-point bucket in each of his last three games.
Markeith Is Close to History: Owls junior Markeith Cummings comes into Saturday with 1,495 career points, just five points short of becoming the third player in the program's history to eclips 1,500 points. He is currently 138 points behind Ronell Wooten for second on the program's all-time scoring list.
