By: KSU Sports Information
Watch: ESPN3 ASun.tv
Listen Tickets
Fight Song Coach Preston Pregame
Live Stats Game Notes
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State Owls play their third of four straight home games on Friday evening, when they play host to their in-state rivals, the Mercer Bears, at 7:00 p.m. at the KSU Convocation Center. The game will be aired on Comcast Sports Southeast as the CSS/A-Sun Friday Night Game of the Week.
The Owls (3-22, 0-13 Atlantic Sun Conference) will be looking to snap a three-game slide against Mercer (19-7, 11-2 A-Sun), in front of what is expected to be a near-sellout crowd at the Convocation Center.
Watch, Listen Live: Friday night's game will be aired on Comcast Sports Southeast as the CSS/A-Sun Game of the Week, the second time the Owls will be featured on that package this season. Their road game against the Bears on Jan. 13 was also the CSS/A-Sun Game of the Week. The telecast will be simulcast on ESPN3 for those living outside of the CSS viewing area. Live audio will be available on KSU All-Access, at
www.KSUOwls.com/Showcase. Subscribers of ASun.tv, the conference's video streaming service, will also be able to view the game through their subscription package.
Friday Night Marks an Historic Night For KSU…: The Kennesaw State Pep Band will play the KSU Fight Song prior to the game for the first time on Friday evening, with all fans encouraged to sing along.
…And It’s The Start of an Historic Weekend: Friday night’s game kicks-off a 24-hour period in which the Owls will take on Mercer in men’s and women’s basketball, as well as softball. This marks the first time since the Owls joined the Atlantic Sun Conference that they will have three head-to-head match-ups against the same school in three different sports over a 24-hour period.
The Game Starts at 7:00 p.m., but the Evening Starts at 5: Friday evening’s festivities start at 5:00 p.m., with a pre-game tailgate sponsored by the KSU Foundation and KSU Housing outside of the KSU Convocation Center. Everyone is invited to join, with free food being provided by KSU Culinary Services for the first 800 fans.
Wear Your Gold: All fans are encouraged to wear gold on Friday evening, with the first 1,500 fans in attendance receiving a gold, “Beat Mercer” t-shirt. Limited, general admission tickets, are still available for Friday evening. Tickets are $10. KSU students can pick up their complimentary ticket to Friday night's game at the Convocation Center ticket window from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday. Student tickets are limited and will be distributed on a first-come, first-served, basis.
Owls Senior Romain Henry on Friday Night's Contest:
"The energy from the fans, first and foremost, helps us defensively, because it makes us want to get stops, because we know the crowd will be ignited by our offense when we can get out and run. We’re all extremely excited for the introduction of the fight song tomorrow night, too, it is such a special moment for everyone, it’s really going to bring everyone together and will work to bring us even closer together as a campus community."
"This is a big-time rivalry for us, the energy in the building is always at its highest level when Mercer comes to town. Everyone is always excited about it all over campus. It’s great to see everyone in the stands for this game, even the fans who aren’t here all that often, and we hope it makes them want to come out to all of our games."
About the Match-Up:
All-Time Series: Bears Lead, 8-5
Owls Record at the KSU Convocation Center: 2-4
The Last Time They Met: Jan. 13, 2012- Macon, Ga.- Mercer 81, Owls 51
Notable:
-Despite the lopsided final result on Jan. 13, the Owls trailed by just 11 points at the half and were within four of the lead in the second half, before Mercer went on separate, 12-0 and 12-2 runs to put the game out of reach, shooting 20-for-28 from the field in the second half (.714).
-Prior the Bears, 81-51, victory over the Owls on Jan. 13, the last four games between the two squads had all been decided by eight points or less, with three of those margins being three points or less, the teams splitting two games apiece.
-Owls junior Markeith Cummings has averaged 18.4 points per game in his five career appearances against Mercer, and has scored 23 or more on three occasions. He dropped 30 on the Bears to go along with nine rebounds in Macon on Feb. 15, 2011.
-Mercer enters Friday evening leading the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 11-2 conference record, half a game ahead of the Belmont Bruins for first place in the league.
-The Bears make their bones on defense, allowing just 62.5 points per game, the lowest in the A-Sun. Their opponents this season have shot just 38.5 percent from the floor this season, by far the best in the league.
-Mercer is currently riding the coattails of an eight-game winning streak, and have taken 11 of their last 12 contests, with seven of their wins during that run coming by double-digits.
-The Bears are led by senior Justin Cecil and sophomore Langston Hall, who currently lead the team with 11.4 and 10.9 points per game, respectively. Sophomore Jakob Gallon is their leader on the boards, averaging 5.8 rebounds per contest.
About the Bears:
-Mercer enters Friday evening leading the Atlantic Sun Conference with an 11-2 conference record, half a game ahead of the Belmont Bruins for first place in the league.
-The Bears make their bones on defense, allowing just 62.5 points per game, the lowest in the A-Sun. Their opponents this season have shot just 38.5 percent from the floor this season, by far the best in the league.
-Mercer is currently riding the coattails of an eight-game winning streak, and have taken 11 of their last 12 contests, with seven of their wins during that run coming by double-digits.
-The Bears are led by senior Justin Cecil and sophomore Langston Hall, who currently lead the team with 11.4 and 10.9 points per game, respectively. Sophomore Jakob Gallon is their leader on the boards, averaging 5.8 rebounds per contest.
An Award-Filled Week for the Owls: Tuesday and Wednesday saw a pair of Owls receive awards for their play from the Atlantic Sun Conference. Freshman Delbert Love, who scored 19 points in each of the Owls two games last week, was named the A-Sun Newcomer of the Week on Tuesday, the first such award of the season for him.
Love’s teammate, junior Aaron Anderson, would follow that up on Wednesday by earning the inaugural A-Sun Crons Achiever Award. The honor will be awarded monthly to the Atlantic Sun Conference athlete who has the most notable achievement during the past month, as voted on by the fans. Anderson beat out the other seven candidates this month by receiving 54 percent of the fan vote, having notched five double-doubles during January, and a total of six double-digit rebound games. He also scored in double figures in seven out of 12 games during the month.
A Terrific Trio: Entering Friday, Markeith Cummings (15.5 ppg), Spencer Dixon (13.0 ppg) and Delbert Love (12.2 ppg) are averaging a combined 40.7 points per contest, tied for the highest scoring trio in the A-Sun with Chris Perez, Aaron Graham and Adam Pegg of Stetson. Cummings (5.3 rpg) also has his hand in another two-man act, as he and Aaron Anderson (9.1 rpg) and their 14.4 rpg are the most prolific rebounding teammates in the league.
Protecting the Ball: Kennesaw State heads into Monday evening averaging just 14.1 turnovers per contest, the second lowest in the Atlantic Sun Conference. They have turned it over 12 times or less on 11 occasions this season, including just nine times on Monday evening vs. USC Upstate, their second lowest total of the season.
Aaron Gets Double-Doubles? Markeith Can Do that Too: Markeith Cummings recorded his second double-double of the season and eighth of his career on Monday night vs. USC Upstate, scoring 13 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. His and Anderson’s combined 11 double-doubles give the Owls the most double-doubles of any team in the A-Sun this season.
Expect a Big Crowd For the Bears: The second and third largest crowds at the KSU Convocation Center for an Owls men’s basketball game have been for games against the in-state rival Mercer Bears. The match-up last season drew 2,257 fans, while the Owls, 66-63, triumph over the Bears on Feb. 4, 2010 drew a then-record crowd of 2,378.
Dawson Keeps on Stepping Up: Sophomore Brandon Dawson matched his career-high with seven rebounds at Stetson on Jan. 30, and then tied his career-high with 12 points vs. ETSU on Feb. 4. He showed his peak performance as of late wasn’t a fluke, as he dropped 12 points once again vs. USC Upstate on Monday, getting the start for the second straight game.
Bouncing Back From a Tough Start Monday: The Owls acquitted themselves nicely in the second half of their game vs. USC Upstate on Monday night, following up a 7-for-26 (.269) shooting performance during the first 20 minutes with 13-for-29 (.448) shooting in the second half.
