"In the second half we definitely played harder and fought tougher," Kennesaw State head coach Lewis Preston said. "I challenged our guys to come out with more energy in the second and they picked it up. Orlando hit on a couple of floaters and that got us going. All-in-all we're happy with the second half effort and we'll build on this heading into league play."

KSU stuck with the Hoosiers, now 10-3, through the first four minutes of the game with Yonel Brown putting in the first field goal for the Owls to tie it up at two. Coleman then gave the Owls their first lead of the contest as he hit on the pull-up jumper to set KSU up by a pair.

After IU briefly tied things up at four, Coleman again hit on the go-ahead basket, this one a tip-in off of a Nate Rucker miss to make it 6-4 Owls. Following the put-back it was then IU who took off on a 12-0 run over the next two minutes to go up 16-6 with 14:25 to go in the half.

The Owls managed to cut the lead down to just eight points late in the period, 26-18, on a Charlie Byers jumper before another run from IU, this one eight straight, put the home team up by as many as 22 with 1:48 to go.

KSU would end the half with a run of its own, however, going on a 5-1 spurt thanks in large part to a Delbert Love three-pointer, sending the game into the break 43-25 Hoosiers.

Love then came out of the half and immediately put in two more for the Owls, cutting the IU lead down to 16 points 11 seconds into the half before the Hoosiers regrouped, extending their lead back to 23 at 57-34.

Indiana went up by as many as 28 in the half at 62-34 with 13:41 to play, but the Owls swung back, dwindling the lead back down to 16 over the next four minutes with baskets from five different Owls including a three-pointer from Love, setting the score at 65-49 IU with under 10 to go.

IU then got back on the offensive track, going up by 20 just one minute later as the Hoosiers went on to win it, 90-66.

Along with Coleman's 18, Love also finished in double-figures scoring as the junior threw in 13 points on three three-pointers while Myles Hamilton aided in the effort with his career-high seven assists.

KSU also came away with eight steals, two each from Rucker and Love, turning the 20 Indiana turnovers into 18 points on the other end of the court.


The Owls will be back at it on Monday, Dec. 30 when the team opens up Atlantic Sun Conference play at North Florida in a 7 p.m. ET contest in Jacksonville, Fla.

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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