Friday, December 28
4 p.m.  – Kennesaw State (3-10) at Georgia Tech (6-5)
Location: Atlanta, Ga. | McCamish Pavilion
Links: ACC Network Extra | KSU Notes | Georgia Tech Notes

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team heads to Atlanta, squaring off against in-state rival Georgia Tech to close out the calendar year at 4 p.m. Friday.
» The Owls are coming off a three-game homestand in which they took two of three games, including a 90-72 victory over Southeastern last Thursday.
» Freshman Ugo Obineke lit it up against the Fire, recording a career-high 24 points. The Rowlett, Texas native scored 18 points, going 9-of-12 from the floor, in the second half to propel the Owls to victory.
» The Owls recorded a season-high 49 rebounds against SEU, the fourth time this season KSU has logged 40 or more rebounds. Four Owls recorded at least seven rebounds in the game. As a team, KSU is averaging 37.8 rebounds per game to rank second in the ASUN.
» Bryson Lockley and Kosta Jankovic were two of three players to record a game-high eight rebounds against Southeastern. Both Owls rank among the league's top-10 for rebounds per game. Lockley ranks fourth with a 7.4 rpg average while Jankovic stands at ninth averaging 5.7 rpg.
» Redshirt-junior Tyler Hooker logged his fifth game this year, second in the last three games, with at least 20 points. Hooker has hit double-figures in all but one game this season and is currently ranked second in the league averaging 19.1 points per game, one of two players in the conference to average over 19 ppg.
» The Owls have found their groove as of late, shooting over 40 percent from the floor in the past four matches. Against Southeastern, the Owls shot 55.4 percent, the first time this season they have shot over 50 percent.

The Matchup
Georgia Tech welcomes the Owls to dowtown Atlanta currently sitting at 6-5 on the year having dropped two of their last three games. The Yellow Jackets lost their most recent game to Georgia 70-59. Georgia Tech fell to another mutual opponent during the three-game stretch in Gardner-Webb, 79-69.

This is the first time since 2013, fourth time in history, that the Owls and Yellow Jackets have squared off on the hardwood with Georgia Tech holding a 2-1 series record.

While sophomore Jose Alvarado is the Yellow Jackets biggest scoring threat, averaging 13.9 points per game, junior James Banks III is one of the ACC's best. Banks leads Georgia Tech and ranks fifth in the conference in rebounds per game averaging 9.2 per contest. He is also second in the league for blocks, averaging 2.6 per game.

Last Time Out
Freshman Ugo Obineke went off for a career-high 24 points, 18 in the second half alone, as four Owls finished in double-figures, including another 20-point performance from Tyler Hooker, to help KSU close out its three-game homestand with a 90-72 win over Southeastern.

After a back-and-forth start, the Owls (3-10) pulled in front behind a 6-0 run capped off by a jumper from Kosta Jankovic to make it 13-8 at the 13:20 mark. KSU eventually built its lead to double-figures, 22-12, following a fast break layup from Lewis to cap off a 7-0 run with 10 minutes to go in the half.

The Owls led by as much as 13 points in the opening half, 33-20, before an 8-0 run from the Fire pulled it to within five points, 33-28, with 1:16 to play. Lewis eventually broke Southeastern's run with a three-pointer as KSU netted the final four points to lead 37-28 at the half.

Obineke came alive in the second half scoring KSU's first 10 points to give the Owls a 47-33 lead at the 16:56 mark. The Owls pushed their lead to 20 points after a 7-0 run made it 55-35 with 13:15 still to play.

KSU led by as much as 24 points, 67-43, before the Fire began to chip away at the Owls lead with a 7-0 run. KSU maintained its double-digit lead throughout an increasingly chippy second half in which a combined 31 fouls were called, resulting in 38 trips to the free throw line.

Obineke recorded 18 of his 24 points in the second half, with Lewis and Jankovic both netting double-digits in the final 20 minutes, as the Owls cruised to the final buzzer.

Make It Rain
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has been lighting up the scoreboard, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game, and 20 or more points in five contests. In KSU's recent game against Tennessee Tech, he poured in six three-pointers, the second-most treys made in a single-game in DI history, to log 28 points.

The Simpsonville, S.C., native ranks second in the ASUN averaging 19.1 points per game and is one of five players in the league to have over 200 points on the year.

He also ranks among the conference's best at the free throw line with 59 made buckets at the charity stripe to rank tied for first. Over the past eight games, he has been lights out going 44-of-47 at the line.

Hooker set a new career-high this year with 30 points against Belmont. If he can continue at this pace, Hooker would rank among the top-10 single-season scorers all-time at KSU.

Now Boarding
The Owls are coming off their best rebounding performance of the season against Southeastern. Four Owls recorded at least seven rebounds to log a season-high 49 rebounds compared to 29 by the Fire.

KSU ranks second in the ASUN averaging 37.8 rebounds per game with three Owls ranked among the league's top-15 for rebounds per game.

Four Owls have recorded at least 60 rebounds on the year with Bryson Lockley four rebounds shy of breaking the century mark. Lockley has recorded at least eight rebounds in seven games, hitting double-digits three times, including a career-high 14 against Elon.

Lockley ranks fourth in the conference averaging 7.4 rebounds per game while Kosta Jankovic (5.7 rpg) and Isaac Mbuyamba (5.3 rpg) rank ninth and 15th, respectively.

KSU's current 37.8 rebounds per game average would break the previous Division I single-season record of 35.9 set in 2016-17.

Ugo Hard In The Paint
After pouring in 17 points in his debut game against Oglethorpe, freshman Ugo Obineke has become a staple in the starting lineup.

Obineke has recorded double-digits in five games, including a career-high 24 points in KSU's recent game against Southeastern. The Rowlett, Texas native went 9-of-12 in the second half for 18 points to help the Owls defeat the Fire.

He is one of three Owls to score over 100 points so far this season averaging 9.9 points per game. Obineke leads the team, and ranks 17th in the league, shooting 46.5 percent from the floor.

It's A Block Party!
Junior Isaac Mbuyamba wreaked havoc at Gardner-Webb with six blocks. Not only is that a new career-high for Mbuyamba, but it sets a new Division I single-game record for KSU, falling just one block shy of the overall program record of seven set by Ron Ruffin in 1995.

Mbuyamba leads the team with 16 total blocks on the year. He currently ranks tied for fourth in the ASUN for total blocks. The Portland, Ore., product has a shot at cracking the career block top-10 list this season with 43 blocks so far in his KSU career. Israel Brown (1989-93) currently holds the No. 10 spot with 58.

As a team, KSU ranks fourth in the conference averaging 3.2 blocks per game. At Gardner-Webb, the Owls recorded eight total blocks, tying the second most blocks all-time in a single-game at KSU. The Owls have recorded five or more blocks three times this year.

Freshman Antonio Spencer is another big factor in KSU's blocking prowess with eight on the year to rank tied for 15th in the conference.

Got It On Lockley
Redshirt-junior Bryson Lockley has been a huge piece for the Owls in his second season at KSU, scoring in double-figures in four of the last six games, including two double-doubles in that span. Over the current six-game span he is averaging 10.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

The Houston, Texas native leads the team and ranks fourth in the ASUN averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.

Lockley has doubled his per game averages from last season scoring 7.3 points per game compared to 3.7 points a year ago. He is well on his way to shattering his point total from last year (103) with 95 points scored already this season.

In addition to that, Lockley is one of three players on the team with 20 or more assists (23), while ranked third on the squad for blocks (5). 

Kosta Coast
Senior Kosta Jankovic became the second Owl to break the century mark in points scored this year (121) after netting a season-high 17 points against Elon, two points shy of his career-high.

Jankovic has hit double-figures six times this season, including the last two straight, averaging 9.3 points per game.

Against Elon, he tied his career-high with three made three-pointers, accounting for a third of his production beyond the arc so far this season.

Oh Danny Boy
After finally gaining eligibility following the end of the fall semester, freshman transfer Danny Lewis has made waves in his first four games.

Lewis saw his first action at Gardner-Webb, netting nine points. In the last two games, he has hit double-figures recording a career-high 17 against Southeastern. Lewis is currently one of two Owls to average over 10 points per game (10.5).

Free Money
The Owls have made the most of their chances at the charity stripe as of late, shooting 60 percent or better in five of the last six games.

In KSU's game against Eastern Kentucky, the Owls sank 31 free throws, a mark that is tied for third most all-time in a single-game. Against Gardner-Webb, the Owls recorded 20 made free throws, sinking 15 or more free throws in four of the last five games.

After his five made free throws against Southeastern, Tyler Hooker currently ranks tied for first in the conference with 59 made free throws on the year. He ranks fourth in the league shooting 84.3 percent at the line. Over the past seven games he has only missed three free throws for a 93.6 shooting percentage. 

Like The Energizer Bunny
Tyler Hooker and Bryson Lockley just keep going and going, running the floor for the Owls so far this year, averaging 36.5 and 33.2 minutes per game, respectively, to rank second and fourth in the conference. 

Shoot Your Shot
The Owls have found their stroke over the past four games, shooting over 40 percent from the floor in each contest. Before the current stretch, the Owls shot above 40 percent in only two games.

Throughout the first nine games of the season KSU was shooting 34.6 percent compared to 47.3 percent over the last four games.

Ugo Obineke leads the team with a 46.5 shooting percentage which ranks 17th in the ASUN.

Looking Ahead
Following Friday's game, the Owls will close out non-conference play in Connecticut, taking on Yale Wednesday (Jan. 2) at 7 p.m.

Related Videos

Now Playing:

• Play Video