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KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team had the ball in hand with a chance to send the game into overtime against Lipscomb on Sunday afternoon, but the three-point attempt fell short as the Owls took a 76-73 loss in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
 
KSU splits the two-game weekend, defeating Northern Kentucky on Friday night before losing the Sunday matinée to Lipscomb, putting the Owls' overall record at 5-22 with a 2-12 mark in the conference standings.
 
Down by three points after a made Lipscomb free throw, 76-73, KSU took the ball out with 14 seconds left on the clock. A Nate Rucker game tying attempt from beyond the arc then grazed the rim, falling inches short of sending things into overtime.
 
"This is a tough one to swallow," said Kennesaw State interim head coach Jimmy Lallathin. "We missed a lot of shots right at the rim and losing by three that cost us. 18-of-28 from the fre- throw line is just not good enough, especially in situations where we continue to fight. That's what I'm proud of these guys with. We continued to fight and crawl back and that's a credit to them. We have to be able to execute when we get shots from point blank range."

The Owls overcame an 11-point deficit with just under four minutes to play, a Nigel Pruitt three-pointer starting off the scoring run for KSU. A pair of free throws from the sophomore then made it an eight-point game, 75-67, with 2:17 remaining. 30 seconds later it was again Pruitt putting points on the board, this time hitting on three freebies to make it 75-70.

Delbert Love put in a layup with 1:35 to play, cutting the lead to three before one more Pruitt shot from the charity stripe put the Owls within a pair at 75-73. Lipscomb (12-14, 7-8 A-Sun) would add on a free throw of their own before the Owls regained possession for the missed game-tying shot.

"A credit to our guys for continuing to fight, fight, fight, fight," said Lallathin of his team's effort. "That's something we can build off of in the future. That's a tough one though."

Starting off the contest it was Lipscomb that took the big lead right off the bat, going up by 12 in the first seven minutes of action at 18-6. Love and teammate Orlando Coleman then combined for five straight points, cutting it down to seven at 18-11. Tanner Wozniak then put in his first three points of the game, hitting on a long-range jumper from the wing followed by Pruitt's first three of the game to put the Owls within three.
 
A Pruitt free throw set the score at 20-18 with 7:44 left in the first with Rucker giving the game its first tie at 25-25 three minutes later as the forward hit on a layup. The Bison would outscore the Owls in the final five minutes, 10-5, sending the game into the intermission with a 30-25 score in favor of LU.
 
Coleman would make it a one-possession game three minutes into the second half, connecting on the finishing end of the alley-oop pass from Myles Hamilton, keeping the Owls within three at 42-39. KSU would gain its first lead of the contest with a Hamilton three-pointer followed by a Rucker layup, putting the Owls on top 48-46 with 13:35 to play. The Owls went up by as many as four after a Delbert Love layup before a Lipscomb triple put the visitors up for good at 54-53 before the Owls late surge.
 
KSU put three players in double figures, Love's 21 leading the way, his fourth straight game scoring in double digits, with Pruitt throwing in 16 and Hamilton contributing with his 10.
 
Along with the 21 points, Love also brought in a team-high six rebounds to go with his three steals and two assists. Hamilton led the Owls in the assist category with his five while Pruitt went an impressive 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.
 
The Owls also connected on 11 three-pointers, four of those coming from the junior Love and three from Pruitt.
 
KSU again won the battle on the boards, hauling in 38 rebounds to the Bison's 30.
 
Off of the bench, KSU was good for 31 points from its non-starters.
 
The Owls now head south, playing their final two regular season road games starting this Friday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. ET as KSU takes on Stetson in DeLand, 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.
   
 

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