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Fort Myers, Fla. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team had Atlantic Sun Conference leader Florida Gulf Coast all tied up late in the second half, but the Owls couldn't hold off the Eagles on Sunday afternoon, falling late, 78-68, in Alico Arena.
 
Junior Delbert Love put up 22 points to pace the Owls (6-23, 3-13 A-Sun), his sixth straight game with double figure scoring totals, while Orlando Coleman flirted with the triple-double, putting in seven points with eight rebounds and seven assists.
 
"Our guys competed and took another step forward today," said Kennesaw State interim head coach Jimmy Lallathin. "We stuck together and fought hard and had answers for their runs. We just had a couple of turnovers here and there and were just a couple of stops from getting to where we wanted to be. We'll prepare this week for two big games at home. I'm proud of our guys and their fight today."
 
After FGCU (19-10, 13-3 A-Sun) took a 36-29 halftime lead, the Owls made it just a two-possession game less than three minutes into the second period with a three-pointer from Myles Hamilton and a jumper from Coleman set the score at 41-37.
 
The Eagles managed to bring their lead back up to nine at 46-37, but the Owls again didn't fade, going on an 11-2 run to tie things up at 48-48 after a Love three-pointer from a Hamilton assists knotted things up with 12:57 to play.
 
A 6-0 run then swung things back in favor of the home team as FGCU extended its advantage to eight, 60-52, with 9:44 to go before Coleman connected on a three followed by a Nate Rucker layup to make it a three-point affair less than a minute later.
 
FGCU's offense again surged, going up by 10 at 67-57, but the Owls again swung back, bringing it back down to a four point game with five points by Love along with a triple from Bernard Morena, setting the game at 69-65 at the five minute mark.
 
But the Eagles recovered, finding the bottom of the net on back-to-back three-pointers to take the 10-point win.
 
In the first 20 minutes it was FGCU that got off to the hot start, going up by 10 before a pair of Love triples brought the lead back down to four at 12-8 with 12 minutes to go in the first.
 
The Eagles held their largest lead of the contest at 14 points before the Owls surged in the final five minutes, cutting it down to five at 34-29 before a late FGCU jumper sent the game into the break at 36-29.
 
Love's 22 tied him for the game lead in the scoring column while Hamilton tipped in 12 with Rucker adding in 10, Hamilton and Love each dishing out four assists as well.
Love was good for six three-pointers during the contest as well as KSU put in 12 as a team.
 
The Owls are back on the floor this Thursday, Feb. 27 as KSU plays host to Jacksonville in a 7 p.m. ET contest.

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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