By: KSU Sports Information
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Coach Preston Pregame
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State Owls will look to bounce back from a, 64-59, defeat on Saturday afternoon when they host the USC Upstate Spartans on Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. The tilt be the second of three straight home game for the Owls.
The Owls (3-21, 0-12 Atlantic Sun Conference) dropped a, 68-53, decision to the Spartans (14-10, 7-4 A-Sun) on Jan. 7, with Aaron Anderson notching a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Monday Night Is Greek Night...And 80's Night: The first 250 students to arrive at Monday night's game will receive a free Owl headband as part of 80's Night at KSU Convocation Center, with everyone encouraged to wear 80's gear to the game. Free gyros will also be available for 200 students as part of Greek Night. Tickets to Monday night's game are 10 dollars for adults and six dollars for youth in eighth grade or younger. KSU students receive free admission to all Owls home athletic events when they present a valid student ID.
If You Can't Make It, Tune in on ESPN3 or Listen on KSU All Access: Monday night's game will be aired, free-of-charge on ESPN3.com. Live audio will be available on KSU All Access, at www.KSUOwls.com/Showcase.
Hot Shooting Can’t Topple ETSU: The Owls shot a season-high 56.8 percent on Saturday, including 11-for-19 from three-point range (57.9 percent, also a season-high), but couldn’t hold on to a late lead, falling to ETSU, 64-59.
About the Match-Up:
All-Time Series: Spartans Lead, 16-9; 6-2 in Division I era
Owls Record at the KSU Convocation Center: 2-1
The Last Time They Met: Jan. 7, 2012- Spartanburg, S.C..- USC Upstate 68, Owls 53
Notable:
-The Owls scored the first basket of the game before allowing 12 consecutive points and quickly falling behind, 12-2.
-Trailing, 36-21, the Owls cut the deficit to eight points on multiple occasions in the second half, but that was as close as they would come after their early struggles.
-Markeith Cummings scored 13 points in the contest, becoming the Owls all-time scoring leader at the Division I level.
-The game was the first after Delbert Love, Cummings, and Aaron Anderson were named tri-captains by Owls head coach Lewis Preston.
About the Spartans:
-The Spartans were the winner of four straight games before falling to Mercer, 61-47, on Saturday night, a game in which they shot just 30.3 percent from the field and 3-for-21 (.143( from three-point range. All four of their wins during their streak came by single digits.
-USC Upstate is led by sophomore Torrey Craig, the 2010-11 A-Sun Freshman of the Year. Craig is currently leading the A-Sun with 17.3 points per game.
-Craig and freshman Ty Greene (10.3 pgg) have started all 24 games this season, while sophomore Ricardo Glenn and freshman Mario Blessing have started 22 out of 24.
-USC Upstate is in their first season of NCAA Division-I postseason eligibity. They were Peach Belt Conference rivals of the Owls when both played at the Division II level.
Mr. 1500: Despite scoring just five points on 1-for-5 shooting on Saturday afternoon, Owls junior Markeith Cummings still reached a significant milestone, becoming just the third Owl in program history to score 1,500 career points.
Dawson Has Pair of Games to Remember: Owls sophomore Brandon Dawson matched his career-high with seven rebounds at Stetson on Jan. 30, and followed that up with 12 points vs. ETSU on Saturday- also matching his carer-high.
The Elder Statesmen: Cummings and Dixon enter Monday ranked first and second among active A-Sun players in career points with 1,500 and 1,217, respectively. Dixon is the active career leader in steals (169) and third in assists (373), while Cummings is fourth in rebounds (473).
Protecting the Ball: Kennesaw State heads into Monday evening averaging just 14.3 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.
More Honors For Markeith: Owls junior Markeith Cummings was named to the All A-Sun Pre-Conference Team by College Hoops Net during the last week of December. Cummings, the A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year, is currently third in the conference with 16.1 points per game. CHN re-affirmed their belief that Birmingham, Ala. native is one of the top players in the conference, naming to their All A-Sun team for the month of January.
