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KENNESAW, Ga. – Even with a school-record tying performance from junior guard Delbert Love, the Owls couldn't overcome a feisty FIU squad as the Owls fell to the Panthers, 66-58, on Sunday afternoon in the Convocation Center during the KSU Men's Basketball Tournament.
 
Love put in 24 points during the contest along with six three-pointers, tying a school record that the Cleveland, Ohio native already owned, giving him 53 points during the first three games of the season.
 
"We had great fight for about 33 minutes," Kenensaw State head coach #Lewis Preston said. "Then we had a seven-minute stretch in the second half when they really got some distance and they were just more physical. The story's told in their 24 free-throw attempts to the nine we attempted. As we move forward we need to be the more physical group and that was the story today."

 
FIU then went up by as many as 11 with 5:58 remaining in regulation before the Owls charged all the way back, cutting it to just a four-point lead with 1:25 to go. Love again swung the momentum in favor of the Owls with back-to-back triples off of assists from Orland Coleman and Myles Hamilton.
 
Coleman then cut it to a two-possession game with his put back, but it was a three-pointer from FIU's Raymond Taylor that put the game out of reach as the Panthers took a 66-58 win.
 
The Owls struck first in the ballgame, taking a 5-0 lead after a Willy Kouassi dunk and a Bernard Morena triple. The two teams then played to seven ties and eight lead changes down the home stretch of the first half with neither team holding more than a three point lead in the final 12 minutes.
 
After Brown put in a three with 45-seconds to go in the opening period to put the Owls up by three, the Panthers answered with a three-ball of their own with 17-seconds left on the clock to tie it up just before the half, 32-32.
 
"I'm more than confident we're going to start knocking down shots," Preston added. "We need to continue getting better, getting more consistent and getting into our flow offensively. I tip my hat to FIU because whenever they needed a basket they got it including that dagger of a three-pointer at the end."
 
KSU put in a total of nine-three pointers during the contest, six of those going to Love and two belonging to Morena who ended the ballgame with 10 points, eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
 
Kouassi earned himself a game-high three blocks with nine points and five rebounds while Hamilton ended up with a season-best five assists.
 
KSU again outrebounded its opponent, hauling in 43 to the Panthers' 35, with 19 of those coming on the offensive end leading to 17 second chance points for the Owls.
 
The Owls also shined from the bench, tipping in 35 points to FIU's five.
 
The Owls wrap-up their home tournament on Monday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. ET during Education Day as NAIA opponent Warren Wilson College comes to town.
 
To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsMBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.
 
Season tickets are currently available for all the home court action for the Owls and can be purchased by following the link here.
   

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