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KENNESAW, Ga. – Despite a pair of breakout performances from Willy Kouassi and Nigel Pruitt, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team couldn't hold off Florida Gulf Coast University as the Eagles took an 83-62 win on Saturday afternoon.
 
Kouassi made it back-to-back stand-out games, putting in 15 points with six rebounds against the Eagles while Pruitt had 15 points during the loss, putting the Owls at 4-18 on the year and 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun Conference standings.
 
FGCU put four players in double-figure scoring as they move to 13-9 on the year and 7-2 in the league.
 
"We didn't have our best game," said Kennesaw State interim head coach Jimmy Lallathin. "We started off slow and our defensive game plan just wasn't executed and that's a lack of discipline that we need to fix. That's a good team we played, but the scoreboard was not an indication of how far off we are. We're going to get better, learn to compete better, and it starts on Monday."
 
The Owls never led in the game as the Eagles took off to a 10-point lead just four minutes into the contest at 14-4. KSU then managed to bring an 11-point lead down to just four as Kouassi put in the dunk plus a free throw followed by three points from Pruitt and a jumper from Yonel Brown, putting the score at 20-16 with 12:04 to go in the half.
 
The teams then exchanged baskets up until the 8:49 mark when Brown sunk a three-point shot to cut a seven-point FGCU lead back down to four at 28-24 before the Eagles went on a 9-0 run, sending their lead back to double-digits at 36-24.
 
A Kouassi put-back jam brought the lead back down to single digits, 36-26, with just over six to go, but FGCU responded, going back up by 11, an advantage they would hold until Brown hit on two free throws just before the horn, putting the halftime score at 46-37 Eagles.
 
Out of the break it was Kouassi who cut the lead down to seven points just 44 seconds in with his layup off of the Myles Hamilton assist. FGCU added on two free throws followed by another Kouassi layup, keeping the point differential at seven, the closest KSU would come in the second period.
 
An 8-2 run in favor of FGCU set the Eagles up by 15, 57-24, as the visitors took off offensively, bumping their lead up to 20 points over the next 10 minutes at 69-49. Pruitt cut it to 17 on three free throws, 69-52 with 9:55 to play, and down to 16 just seconds later with another shot from the stripe.
 
But the Owls wouldn't come closer than 17 for the remainder of the contest as the Eagles went out to the 83-62 win.
 
Along with Kouassi and Pruitt, Brown also finished in double figures with his 11 points as the KSU bench put in 39 of the team's points. Delbert Love was good for four points, putting him just 13 away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
 
On the boards, KSU outrebounded FGCU, 36-33, with Kouassi's six leading the way. The Owls also brought down 15 offensive rebounds, leading directly to 14 second chance points.
 
The Owls now hit the road for two straight games, starting this Thursday, Jan. 30 as KSU takes on USC Upstate, starting off the second round of A-Sun action.

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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