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KENNESAW, Ga. – In the home opener for the Kennesaw State men's basketball team, Brewton-Parker gave the Owls a scare, but KSU used a big run in the second half to secure the team's first victory of the 2016-17 season in the KSU Convocation Center.
 
The Owls were led by their two seniors as Kendrick Ray led all scorers with 23 points and Aubrey Williams had a monster night with two career highs as he scored 18 points and secured 20 rebounds.
 
Brewton Parker started out the night hot with 10 of their 15 baskets in the first half coming from behind the arc. The Barons built up a 21-point lead with 4:07 remaining in the opening frame, but KSU started chipping away at the lead after that.
 
Nick Masterson hit a three right before the buzzer to make the score 47-32 at halftime, but the Owls were starting to build momentum.
 
KSU stayed aggressive entering the second half led by Kendrick Ray, who scored 15 of his 23 in the final 20 minutes.
 
After cutting the deficit to single-digits, the Owls went on an 11-2 run to tie the game at 60 and kept surging to extend the run to 22-4 over a 10-minute stretch. The big run gave the Owls some breathing room as they led 71-62. Once the Owls took the lead, they didn't look back holding on to win 80-74 in their home opener.
 
The game was a tale of two halves for the Owls as they shot 39.4 percent in the first half and 58.6 in the second. After Brewton Parker shot 48.4 percent from the field in the first half, the Owls held them to only 25 percent in the second half. KSU also outrebounded the Barons 47-36 in the game.
 
Now Kennesaw State faces a quick turnaround as they travel to Bethune-Cookman on Wednesday, November 16 at 7:30 p.m.
 
#NestNotes

• Aubrey Williams posted two career highs against Brewton Parker with 18 points and 20 rebounds. The 20 rebounds is a single-game Division I record for Kennesaw State. It is also his first double-double of the season. Last year, he had his four double-doubles.
• Kendrick Ray scored a game high 23 points in tonight's win with 15 of those coming in the second half. It is his first 20-point game this season.
• This is the first time this season that the Owls have overcome a deficit in the second half. In Coach Skinner's first season, the team overcame a second half deficit two times.
• Nick Masterson was the other Owl in double-figure scoring with 11 points. He has scored in double-figures in both games this season. 
• With the victory tonight, Kennesaw State moved to 7-2 all-time against Brewton Parker and 1-0 since they've joined Division I. This is the third season in a row that KSU has won its home opener.
• For the second time this season, Kennesaw State outrebounded their opponents. Against the Barons, the Owls won the battle 47-36
• KSU spread the ball around once again tonight, assisting on 19 of the 30 field goals the team had.

 
 
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