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STATESBORO, Ga. – A hot end to the first half and a four-point play to start the second wasn't enough to give the Kennesaw State men's basketball team the momentum it needed as the Owls fell to Georgia Southern on Wednesday night, 73-55.
 
Kennesaw State, now 3-9 on the year, overcame a sluggish start to tie up the ballgame in the second half, but couldn't put a stop to a costly offensive run by Georgia Southern in the final 10 minutes as the Eagles imrpove to .500 on the year at 6-6.
 
"You cannot have your starters go 11-for-39 and have a chance to be successful on the road," said Kennesaw State head coach Lewis Preston. "We were undisciplined for an eight to 10 minute stretch and that was the difference."
 
The Owls struggled to get going early, allowing the Eagles to go on a nine-point stretch to start things off before KSU sophomore Orlando Coleman put in back-to-back buckets to set the score at 9-2 after the first five minutes of action.
 
Georgia Southern took its largest lead of the first half at the 8:27 mark when the Eagles went up by 13. Myles Hamilton then sent in his second three-pointer in as many attempts to cut the lead down to just 10 points. Senior Andrew Osemhen then started what was a 13-4 run to end the half for the Owls as the 6-9 forward put in a pair of free-throws with seven to play, slicing the GSU lead to 30-19.
 
Tanner Wozniak checked into the contest following the freebies from Osemhen, sending in two three-pointers followed by another triple from Nigel Pruitt and a layup from Osemhen to send the game into the break, 34-30 Eagles.
 
After starting the first half 0-for-10 from the field, KSU ended the first period going 11-of-20 with six three-pointers.
 
Junior guard Delbert Love kicked off the second half  just as hot as it ended for the Owls, connecting on the three followed by the free throw to tie things up at 34 just 25 seconds into the period on the four-point play.
 
Following Love's game-tying effort, it was GSU that went on the 9-0 run, giving the Eagles the nine-point advantage until Love struck again, this time with another three-ball to put KSU back within three at 47-44 with 12:24 to go.
 
After Orlando Coleman made it 55-50 with the 10-foot jumper, Georgia Southern went on the offensive run, putting in 16 points to the Owls' one. KSU couldn't manage to erase the GSU lead as the Eagles went on to win it 73-55.
 
Love, Coleman and Rucker each finished up with 10 points, Coleman grabbing a team-high eight rebounds while Rucker came down with six.
 
Coleman also picked up a career-best three blocks as Love earned his first starting nod of the season.
 
The Owls remain on the road following the game with the Eagles, heading to Bloomington, Ind. for a Dec. 22 contest at Big 10 Conference opponent Indiana.

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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