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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team shot a program-best 60 percent from the field as the Owls hung an 84-71 win over Samford during the team's home opener on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Nigel Pruitt went off for 20 points, his second 20-point outing this season, as the Owls took their second consecutive victory, improving their overall record to 2-4.
 
KSU put four players in double-digit scoring including Orlando Coleman, who earned his third double-double of the year and second straight, scoring 12 points to go with his 12 boards.
 
"It was a great win," said Kennesaw State head coach Jimmy Lallathin. "We talked about before the game, protecting home, and today was a great opportunity to do that. We came out strong, we had a little lull in the first half, but we bounced right back. Our defense was the best it's been all year and Nigel got us going with some big shots."
 
The Owls started off with a bang as Pruitt threw in back-to-back three-pointers after the Willy Kouassi opening tip win, giving KSU the 6-0 advantage early on.
 
Senior Delbert Love then joined in on the three-point barrage, tossing in one of his own followed by another from Pruitt, setting the Owls up by nine just three minutes in at 12-3.
 
Samford, who sinks to 2-4 with the loss, got back within two on several occasions over the next 10 minutes, eventually cracking the Owls at the 4:24 mark as a Brandon Roberts layup tied things up at 25.
 
The Bulldogs held their only lead of the game moments later as Roberts hit the and-one free throw, but the Owls held strong as freshman Nick Masterson connected on the triple to put the home team back up by two, 28-26.
 
The shooting guard then did it again, sinking a three-ball off of the Coleman assists, setting the Owls up by five with 3:38 to play. Two free throws from the Bulldogs brought it back to a one-posession game, but senior Nate Rucker put in the layup to send the game into the half 35-30 KSU.
 
After Samford hit on a layup in the first few seconds, the Owls regrouped, going off on a 15-0 run to take a 50-32 lead. Coleman got things going with a jumper followed by free throws from Kouassi and a layup from Love.
 
Rucker then completed the three-point play before Brown found his way to the line. Coleman then put in two more to complete the offensive onslaught, KSU leading by 18 with 12:40 to go.
 
A dunk from Samford brought it back down to 16, but two buckets from Rucker gave KSU its first 20-point lead of the game, 54-34, with 10 minutes to play.
 
The Bulldogs put together a 9-0 run late, bringing the KSU lead down to 67-56 with just 4:30 to go, but the Owls ended strong, holding off the late surge to take the 84-71 home-court win.


Along with Pruitt and Coleman, Love and Brown each finished up with 13 points, Brown dishing out four assists while Love handed out three to go with his seven rebounds.
 
Pruitt threw in four three-pointers during the win, contributing to the seven KSU put in as a team with Masterson sinking two.
 
Kouassi had another stellar outing in the paint, bringing in eight rebounds and two blocks, his fifth multi-block contest.
 
As a team, the Owls outrebounded Samford 40-35 with 35 of those coming on the defensive end.
 
KSU will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 29, as the Owls play host to Chattanooga at 12 p.m. ET. The Owls will be going for their second consecutive win over the Mocs on ESPN3.

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.