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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team stuck with Eastern Kentucky during the second day of the KSU Men's Basketball Tournament, but ultimately fell victim to the Colonels, 68-60, in the second game in as many days for the Owls at the Convocation Center on Saturday evening.
 
Delbert Love had his second consecutive game in double-figures with his 16 points while teammate Bernard Morena put in 13 of his own with nine rebounds, falling one shy of the double-double as KSU moves to 0-2 to start off the season.
 
Eastern Kentucky enjoyed a 21-point game from Corey Walden and a 19-point outing from Marcus Lewis as the Colonels improve to 2-0 with the win.
 
"I thought the energy of our team was much better tonight," Kennesaw State head coach #Lewis Preston said. "We came out and played aggressive and the way we know we are capable of playing. Most importantly, we were able play a variety of different guys and have a bunch of different people step up. I'm Proud of the effort but not satisfied."
 
KSU held the lead as late as the 14:21 mark in the second half as Yonel Brown put the Owls up, 34-32, on the layup. The Colonels then regained the momentum one minute later on a put-back as EKU went on a 9-0 run to make it 40-34 Colonels.
 
EKU then went up by as many as 11 at 53-42 with less than eight minutes to go before the Owls fought back, cutting the lead back down to just four points with field goals from Morena and Nigel Pruitt, bringing it to 58-54 EKU with 1:32 to go.
 
A basket and a free throw then sent the Colonels back up by two possessions as the Owls never regained traction, falling to Eastern Kentucky, 68-60.
 
"I thought we outrebounded a very good team," added Preston. "We just didn't shoot the ball very well and had way too many turnovers to expect to win. Bottom line is we need to knock down shots. We were much better from the free throw-line tonight, now we just need to improve on this and move on to tomorrow."
 
From the opening tip it was KSU that controlled the scoreboard, putting in the first points of the contest on two freebies from Orlando Coleman. The Owls then went on a 6-1 run capped off by a Tanner Wozniak three-pointer off of a Love assist that set the score at 16-9 Owls.
 
A layup from Morena minutes later then gave KSU its largest lead of the game at 21-13 with just over seven to play in the first half. EKU then went on the run to end the first period, going up 30-26 just before the buzzer as both teams headed into the break.
 
Along with Love and Morena, Pruitt also ended the game in double-digit scoring with his 10 points.
 
The Owls did come out on top in the rebound category, bringing down 34 to the Colonels 28, holding EKU to just five offensive rebounds and three second chance points in the process.
 
KSU is back at it on Sunday, Nov. 10, at 3:30 p.m. ET as the Owls take on Florida International in day three of the KSU Men's Basketball Tournament in the Convocation Center.
 
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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