Friday, November 15
3 p.m. ET – Kennesaw State (1-2) vs Missouri (1-1)
Location: St. Thomas, Virgin Islands | University of Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center
Links: FLOHOOPS | Live Stats | Game Notes

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team flew south for the winter, opening a three-game stretch in the U.S. Virgin Islands over the next five days. The Owls begin the Paradise Jam Tournament Friday afternoon against Missouri at 3 p.m. ET.
» The Owls look to bounce back after falling at Samford, 74-60, in a game that saw 11 made 3-pointers in the second half.
» Junior Bobby Parker was on fire against the Bulldogs, going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc to lead the team with 21 points off the bench.
» KSU has been aggressive around the net to open the season, averaging
37 rebounds per game for a +3.3 rebounding margin. Three Owls are currently averaging five or more rebounds per game, led by redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley with a seven rpg average.
» Redshirt-freshman Antonio Spencer has logged at least one block in all three games so far this season, recording two blocks each in KSU's first two
games of the season.
» KSU had a huge influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January.
» KSU returns only three players that started in 15 games or more from last
season, senior Kyle Clarke, red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker and junior Isaac Mbuyamba.
» The Owls win over Oglethorpe marked their first season-opening victory
since the 2010-11 season, defeating the Stormy Petrels 68-57.
 
The Matchup
Friday's game will be the first time the Owls and MU will face one another since the 2011 season when the then-ranked No. 8 Tigers defeated KSU 104-67 in Missouri.
 
Missouri is 1-1 heading into the tournament after falling at Iowa State 76-59 in their most recent game. MU is led by sophomore Mark Smith who is currently averaging 17 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Three Tigers are currently averaging over six rebounds per game, Kevin Puryear (7.5), Jeremiah Tilmon (6.0) and Smith.
 
The Tigers are led by second year head coach Cuonzo Martin who guided the team to a 20-13 record and MU's first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2012-13 season last year.
 
Last Time Out
Kennesaw State fell in their most recent match at Samford to drop to 1-2 on the year. Junior transfer Bobby Parker led the team with 21 points, going 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
 
Kosta Jankovic started off hot once again, hitting the Owls first two jumpers to make it 5-4 with 16:38 left in the half. Then Samford began to pull away, going on a 15-0 run that spanned six minutes to lead 20-4.
 
Freshman Antonio Spencer finally broke the run with a put-back dunk to spark a 10-3 run, capped off by back-to-back three pointers from Bobby Parker to pull KSU within 10, 23-14, at the 8:36 mark. Samford responded with the next six points, but the Owls closed out the first half with a vengeance, going on a 12-2 run over the final four minutes to close out the half trailing 31-26.
 
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a three-pointer, setting the tone for what would be a second half show from beyond the arc. The two teams combined to go 11-20 from three-point range in the second half.
 
The Bulldogs kept KSU at arm's length throughout the first portion of the second half, answering each Owl bucket to maintain at least an eight-point lead. KSU got to within five-points following another three-pointer from Parker before a layup from Tyler Hooker to make it 50-45 at the 9:40 mark.
 
That would be as close as KSU would get though as Samford responded with two three-pointers and a layup to push its lead back to double-digits, 58-47. The Bulldogs had three players record 10 or more points in the second half, finishing 6-of-11 from three-point range.
 
Hooker scored 12 points in the second half, while Parker recorded three of his five 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
 
Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker put on a show in KSU's season-opener with a
career-high 25 points to go along with two assists, four rebounds and a team-high five steals, tying his career-high. Against Samford, Hooker recorded 15 points, the second time in three games he's hit double-digits.
 
His current 15.7 points per game average is tied for fourth in the ASUN while being one of only six players in the league to net over 40 points through the first three games.
Hooker will be the team's go-to shooter this year as the Owls top returning
scorer from last season, averaging 10.8 points per game. He also recorded 79
assists and 38 steals last year.
 
Got It On Lockley
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley has enjoyed a tremendous all-around performance in the early portion of the season. He is currently leading the team with 21 total blocks to rank tied for sixth in the ASUN. He is the only Owl with 10 or more offensive and defensive rebounds.
 
Lockley is also the team leader in assists with eight on the year, after dishing out a career-high five dimes in KSU's season-opener against Oglethorpe. He is currently one of five players tied for seventh in the league for assists.
 
In addition to that, Lockley is averaging 4.7 points per game while recording three blocks and two steals throughout the first three games.
 
Blocking Out The Sun
Freshman Antonio Spencer has begun to establish his presence around the net during KSU's first three games, leading the team with 5 total blocks. He has recorded at least one block in all three games this year, logging two each against Oglethorpe and Kansas State.
 
Spencer ranks fourth in the conference for total blocks as one of only four players in the league with at least five blocks this season.
 
The Serbian Showstopper
Senior Kosta Jankovic has been lights out over the first three games of the year.
He recorded over 10 points in KSU's first two games, marking the 10th and 11th time in his career he has finished in double-figures.
Jankovic recorded nine of his 10 points against Kansas State in the first half, logging seven of KSU's first nine points of the game to give the Owls an early 9-8 lead. He put on the another first half performance at Samford, recording KSU's first two buckets of the night, logging four of his seven points in the opening minutes.
 
Like The Energizer Bunny
Tyler Hooker just keeps going and going, running the floor for the Owls so far this year, averaging 36.7 minutes per game to lead the conference. Against Oglethorpe he played all 40 minutes, marking only the third time in his career he has played from buzzer to buzzer.
 
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley is not far behind ranked tied for second in the league, averaging 34.7 minutes per game. Lockley played all but one minute in KSU's recent game at Samford.
 
Senior Kosta Jankovic is the third Owl to average at least 30 minutes on the floor (30.3).
 
Bring Your Umbrella
It was raining three inside the Pete Hanna Center as the Owls drained eight three-pointers against Samford, accounting for more than half of its season total.
 
Junior transfer Bobby Parker was the driving force behind KSU's three-point production, going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. parker was 3-of-4 in the second half to help reach his team-leading 21 points.
 
Tyler Hooker contributed two treys, while Kosta Jankovic netted one.
 
Back in Black (and Gold)
Kennesaw State's seven returners will have some big shoes to fill after losing nearly half of last year's squad to graduation or transfer, including the Owls' top-2 scorers in James Scott and ASUN Second Team All-Conference honoree Nick Masterson.
 
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker is KSU's top returning scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game last year. He was also second on the team for assists (79) and steals (38). Kyle Clarke and Kosta Jankovic are the lone seniors on a young Owl squad. Clarke and Hooker are the only two returners to record over 100 points, 50 assists and 30 steals.
 
The Owls will rely heavily on junior Isaac Mbuyamba in the paint. Mbuyamba led the team last year with 26 blocks and was second with 131 total rebounds.
 
Fresh Faces
The Owls welcome a large crop of newcomers this season with the potential to vie for a starting role. In total, KSU will have eight new faces, four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January of this year, but did not see any action.
 
KSU gains some height at the forward position with three of the four newcomers standing at 6'9" or taller.
 
The Owls also gain a surge of much needed depth at the guard position with the addition of four guards, including transfer Bobby Parker who led Mineral Area CC averaging 14 points per game. Joining Parker is Danny Lewis, a three-star recruit who transferred from UCF after being red-shirted last season, and C.J. Washington who averaged 16.7 points per game during Tompkins High School's historic playoff run to its first Region III Class 6 Championship. 
 
Quick Hands
The Owls played havoc on defense last season, averaging 7.1 steals per game to rank third in the ASUN. Six Owls recorded 20 or more steals last season.
 
KSU returns nearly half of its production from last season, including Tyler Hooker and Kyle Clarke who combined for 73 steals, and ranked 12th and 13th in the league, respectively.
 
The Owls picked up right where they left off in their season-opener with 11 steals against Oglethorpe. Tyler Hooker led the way with five steals.
 
To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have a formidable non-conference schedule this season, featuring five matchups against Power-5 teams.
 
After the Owls' season-opener, they jump right into the deep end, traveling to face last year's elite eight squad of Kansas State. The following week KSU heads to the Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Tournament. KSU opens the tournament against SEC foe Missouri with the potential to face either Oregon State or Old Dominion in the second round.
 
KSU then returns to the states to take on perennial OVC powerhouse Belmont before squaring off against the likes of Georgia, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech before opening conference play.
 
Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.
 
The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conference
 
Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08).came during the 2016-17 when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth. KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).
 
Looking Ahead
Depending on the results of Friday's game, the Owls will face either Old Dominion or Oregon State Saturday or Sunday.

 

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