By: By Brandon Scardigli
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MACON, Ga. – It was tough pegging for the Kennesaw State men's basketball team in Hawkins Arena on Friday night as the Owls took an 83-46 loss at in-state and Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer University.
In what was the first of three games on the road for the Owls, the team falls to 4-14 overall and 1-4 in the conference while the A-Sun leading Bears bumped their record to13-5 on the year and 4-1 in league play while also improving to 10-0 on their home floor.
"In the first half we shot well, we just didn't get big plays on the offensive end," said Kennesaw State interim head coach
Jimmy Lallathin. "We didn't get the physicality we were looking for and that stymied us early. Defensively we were successful in two out of our three principles, but we just couldn't take away the three-point line. We know what we have to be and what we need to look like on the floor and we'll watch film first thing in the morning and try and get there."
The Owls came out strong from the opening tip, putting the first two points on the scoreboard after
Bernard Morena finished on the pinpoint
Delbert Love pass.
Orlando Coleman made it a 4-0 KSU advantage shortly thereafter with a defensive rebound turned into points on the other end.
After a quick Mercer triple it was the senior
Andrew Osemhen who extended the KSU lead back up to three with his layup, setting the scene at 8-5 Owls with 16:01 to go in the half. The two teams then put on a defensive show before Mercer took its first lead of the game at 9-8 at the 12:28 mark.
Yonel Brown sent in the three-pointer for the Owls just 30 seconds later, putting KSU back on top by two thanks to the
Willy Kouassi assist. After just over a minute without a field goal from either team, Mercer put in the layup at the 10:27 mark, sparking what went on to be a 22-0 run by the home team.
The next KSU points came on a three-pointer from sophomore
Jordan Montgomery with 1:12 before the half as the Bears would carry a 33-14 lead after the first 20 minutes of action.
Coming back out it was Mercer who sent in the first shot, but KSU responded with the slam from Osemhen, putting the score at 35-16 Bears. Three consecutive three-pointers from the Bears then bumped the dividend up to 28 points in favor of MU with 14:49 on the clock.
The Owls brought it down to 25 after a Kouassi defensive rebound turned into a Hamilton dunk on the other end, starting off the 4-0 run from the Owls with 10 to go in regulation. Koussi then scored four straight on his own, sinking two free throws followed by the layup to bring the Mercer lead down to 21 at 54-33 with nine minutes remaining.
But Kouassis's efforts weren't enough as the Bears went on to win things, 83-46.
The 6-10 sophomore put in six total points, all in the second half, while Love led the Owls with his 11. To go with the six points, Kouassi also came up with a pair of blocks, giving him a team-leading 15 on the season, while Love picked up seven rebounds and four assists.
As a team, the Owls shot 43 percent from the field including a 50 percent margin in the second half alone. KSU also took down 25 total defensive rebounds.
Mercer put four players in double-figures scoring while also picking up 33 points off of KSU turnovers.
The three-game road trip continues for the Owls next week as KSU heads to Music City for a Jan. 16, 7 p.m. contest against Lipscomb.
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.
-#GoKSUOwls-
