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KENNESAW STATE, Ga. – Sophomore guard
Delbert Love surpassed 600 career points after scoring a team-high 15 points and senior forward
Markeith Cummings added 10, but it was not enough as Kennesaw State fell 66-54 to visiting USC Upstate in an Atlantic Sun Conference game Thursday at the KSU Convocation Center.
The Owls (2-16, 1-5) trailed from the outset and made a second-half run to trim a 20-point deficit down to nine but could not complete the comeback as they were unable to take advantage of their free throw opportunities.
Kennesaw State went 8-for-21 from the free throw line in the second half and finished the game 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) from the charity stripe while being outrebounded 41-23 for the game.
Those two factors and a double-double by junior forward Torrey Craig, who scored a game-high 17 points and collected 10 rebounds, allowed the Spartans (9-9-, 3-2) to hold on for the victory.
“I have to tip my hat to Upstate because they came out and played exactly the way I thought they would play,” Kennesaw State head coach Lewis Preston said. “The two most indicative stats tonight, the 20 points (36-16) they outscored us in the paint. They were able to get the ball inside whether it was off penetration or throwing it inside, and then their second-chance points. Their 12 second-chance points, believe it or not, ended up being the difference in the game.
“We had our opportunities. You have to make open shots and you can’t go 10-for-24 from the free throw line,” Preston added. “I thought the last 10 minutes of the game we played with some energy and turned them over. But when we turned them over we quite couldn’t get that engine revved up.”
USC Upstate led the entire game, held a 32-23 halftime lead, and opened the second half with a 10-0 run to take a 42-23 lead less than three minutes into the period.
However, the Owls went on a 21-9 run over the next 10 minutes to cut the deficit to 53-44 with 7:04 remaining. But the Spartans answered with an 11-4 run over the next five minutes to build their lead back up to 16 points at 64-48 with 2:21 to play.
Love finished the game 5-for-13 from the field, including 3-for-8 from behind the arc, to increase his career point total to 604 in 49 games.
Kennesaw State returns to action on Saturday when it hosts East Tennessee State at the KSU Convocation Center beginning at 2:30 p.m.
Kennesaw State University is celebrating 30 years of intercollegiate athletics during the 2012-13 academic year.
