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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In what was a hotly contested ballgame in the first 20 minutes, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team couldn't keep pace with the Lipscomb Bison as the Owls fell on the road in Atlantic Sun Conference action on Thursday night, 88-83.
 
Junior Delbert Love tipped in 17 first-half points during the effort as the Owls fall to 4-15 overall and 1-5 in the A-Sun while the Bison improve to 7-11 overall and 2-5 in the league standings with their home-court win.
 
Offensively, the Owls put four players in double figures including Love's team-high of 17 as KSU shot nearly 60 percent as a team from the field with seven three-pointers. The 83 total points were the second most this season for KSU.
 
"Offensively we were tremendous," said Kennesaw State interim head coach Jimmy Lallathin. "Until the last few shots of the second half we were shooting 60 percent, but we just couldn't come away with the 50-50 balls. Rebounding and free throws are where we got hurt tonight. We weren't always disciplined on defense, but when we were it turned into points on the other end. Our youth showed a little bit tonight but we're moving in the right direction. We're going to watch film tomorrow and grow and try to finish games."
 
In a first half that saw 14 lead changes and 11 ties, it was KSU that quickly lit up the scoreboard as Myles Hamilton took the opening tip and hit on the layup just two seconds in. Nate Rucker and Love then joined in on the scoring as both put in field goals to give the Owls the 6-0 edge just over a minute into the contest.
 
The Owl defense then held Lipscomb without a field goal until the 17:14 mark before Rucker hit on a pair of free throws shortly thereafter to give KSU its largest lead of the half at seven points, 12-5. Lipscomb then put together the 10-0 run to put itself up by three, 15-12, before Tanner Wozniak came in off the bench to hit the three and set the Owls back up by one with 12:48 to go.
 
Neither team then held onto more than a three-point lead until the 1:18 mark when Love sent in a triple to give KSU the four-point advantage at 42-38. With the ballgame then tied up at 42 with under 30 seconds to play, Nigel Pruitt hit on the fifth three-pointer of the half for the Owls, but LU responded with a 30-foot buzzer beater to send the game into the break all knotted up at 45.
 
KSU shot 60 percent in the first half alone with 17 points coming from Love to go with his seven rebounds.
 
Lipscomb opened up the second period by breaking the tie with a three-point ball followed by a pair of free throws to go up by five. Hamilton then came away with the steal followed by a fast-break layup to give the Owls their first points of the period, but it was LU that enjoyed an 11-3 run to make it 56-48 three minutes in.
 
The Owls then put in five straight after a Wozniak three-pointer and a Brown layup to make it a one-possession game at 60-57 with 13:20 on the clock. LU managed to bump its lead back up to five before the Owls closed the gap once again, making in just a one-point game with a pair of field goals from the guards Brown and Hamilton.
 
KSU tied things up at 67 with 10:55 to go on the Kris Drees wide open dunk after a Hamilton defensive rebound and assist. Despite the Owls cutting it to a one-possession lead on three separate occasions in the final five minutes of action, the Bison proved strong, outpacing the Owls in the final 10 minutes of  play, 19-16, as the home team took the 88-83 win.
 
Rucker aided in the effort with his 14 points while Brown added 13 and Hamilton was good for 12 during the outing, Brown and Hamilton each also dishing out four assists.
 
On the boards, Love grabbed a team-high eight of the Owls' 30 total rebounds while putting in 38 points in the paint.
 
KSU also enjoyed 34 points from its bench players against the Bison.
 
The Owls remain on the road following the game in Nashville, Tenn., heading to Northern Kentucky for a 7 p.m. ET game against the Norse this Saturday, Jan. 18.

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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