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KENNESAW, Ga. – In a must win Atlantic Sun Conference game against Stetson in the Convocation Center, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team scored 54 points in the second half in front of an electric crowd to fend off the Hatters 88-82.
 
 "I thought it was our most complete team win in terms of contributions from a lot of different guys," head coach Jimmy Lallathin said. "I was very proud of them for that. Some guys have been scuffling offensively and defensively and some guys rose to the occasion today when they got their opportunity. I'm very happy. I hope our guys build on the momentum a little bit. We have a big challenge coming in Saturday. We have a lot of confidence in these guys and when the bench is as deep as it was tonight that makes us just a better team. We still have to defend at a much higher level right now than what we're doing, but it's fun to correct and continue to build on that after a win."

Damien Wilson set another career high in points with 28, and Yonel Brown scored over 20 points in his third straight game having 21.
 
Willy Kouassi and Orlando Coleman both led the way with 10 rebounds.
 
With under 2:30 to play and the shot clock winding down, Coleman stepped back and hit a huge three to put the Owls up 77-69. A minute later, Brown hit two free throws to give the Owls their biggest lead of the night at 79-69.
 
Stetson got the margin back down to two, but senior Delbert Love stepped up to the charity stripe and swished both of his free throws putting the Owls back up 86-82. In the final two minutes, KSU made nine of 10 free throws to ice the game.
 
In the first half, Stetson climbed to a nine-point lead with 2:35 remaining in the period when Willy Kouassi made two layups to guide the Owls on a 6-0 run to end the half making the score 37-34.
 
Out of the locker room, Brown came out shooting and hit a three to tie the game on KSU's first possession.
 
The game went back and forth from there as the teams were tied four times and the lead changed seven times in the next eight minutes.
 
With 11:50 remaining and the Owls trailing 55-54, Coleman dunked home a rebound to ignite the Owls on a 7-0 run and gave KSU the lead back for good.
 
Brown scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half and was perfect from the free throw line making all eight attempts.
 
After an attendance of 1,537, the first two home conference games have been the best attended all season in the Convocation Center.

"The crowd was great tonight," Lallathin said. "It creates a home court advantage and it's something that uplifts our guys. I can't wait to see what it's going to be on Saturday. We love our home court advantage and we love our students. We represent those guys and girls and just want to keep winning for them."

This is the second victory in a row over Stetson.

The Owls now move to 6-14 and 1-3 in A-Sun play. The next game is against Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
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.