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SPARTANBURG, S.C.  – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team dropped a tough ASUN contest in Spartanburg, South Carolina at USC Upstate 79-73 on Saturday, January 28.
 
Nick Masterson led the team with 14 points and Aubrey Williams had his 13^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Owls were hot early building an 11-point lead nine minutes into the game after a layup and a jumper by Kyle Clarke.
 
Kennesaw State ended up holding the lead the entire first half with balanced scoring across the board. Three guys had six points and five guys had four points as KSU led 38-33 at halftime.
 
In the second half, Upstate was ready to make their run. The Spartans took their first lead of the game at the 13:50 mark in the second half after a 9-1 run. Once they had the lead, the Owls tried to mount several comebacks, but Mike Cunningham's 16 second half points kept Upstate out front.
 
On the Owls last attempt to get a road victory, Tyler Hooker got a layup to get the Owls within one with 5:54 remaining. Upstate responded with five straight points to go back up six. KSU would get the score down to one possession one more time, but the Spartans answered with a three to put the game out of reach.
 
Johannes Nielsen returned to action today and received his first career start. He went 4-6 from the floor scoring eight points.
 
This game marks the middle of ASUN play for the Owls as they move to the second half with a 3-4 record. A season ago Kennesaw State was 2-5 at the halfway make. Now the team will travel to NJIT to play on Monday, January 30 at 7 p.m.
 
#NestNotes

• Aubrey Williams recorded his 13^th double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
• This concludes the first half of ASUN play for the Owls. The team is 3-4 at the halfway mark. Last season, KSU was 2-5 headed into the final stretch of the ASUN season.
• Three KSU players finished in double figures as Masterson had 14, Williams had 12 and Kendrick Ray had 10.
• Masterson went 3-6 from three-point range. The junior is shooting 51.6 from behind the arc and has made at least three treys in 11 games this season.
• Nielsen returned to action for the Owls after missing five games. The freshman received his first career start and went 4-6 from the floor with eight rebounds.

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