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KENNESAW, Ga. – After a tremendous defensive effort in the first half, the Kennesaw State men's basketball team fell behind as Liberty got hot in the second half to pull away and win 62-41 Wednesday night.
 
How it happened: The first half was a battle between the Owls (3-15, 0-3) and the Flames (15-4, 4-0) as both teams combined for only 15 made buckets in the opening period. After two free throws from Bryson Lockley knotted the game, 6-6, at the 13:14 mark, Liberty went on a 10-2 run, spanning nearly five minutes, to lead 16-8.
 
KSU kept it close utilizing the free throw line to stay within shooting distance, going 12-of-14 from the charity stripe in the first half. The Owls closed out the half with an 11-3 run, capped off by four points from Lockley, over the final five minutes to head into the locker room trailing by one, 25-24.
 
The Owls showed some stout defense in the first half, holding the Flames to 32.1 percent from the floor, their lowest first half shooting percentage all season.
 
A pair of free throws from Danny Lewis to open the second half gave the Owls their only lead of the game, 26-25, but Liberty responded immediately with back-to-back three pointers. The Flames went on to extend their lead to 48-29 as KSU recorded only one made bucket throughout the first 12 and a half minutes of the second half.
 
Bobby Parker finally snapped the drought with a pair of buckets, sandwiching a jumper from Hooker, to make it 50-35 with 6:19 to play. That would be as close as KSU would get as Liberty outscored the Owls 37-17 in the second half, shooting 60 percent from the floor, to win the game.
 
Notes: Tyler Hooker led the way for KSU with 16 points, the ninth time in the last 10 games he has recorded 15 or more points, and seven rebounds … Liberty's 62 points scored marked a season-low for the Flames ... As a team, the Owls went 19-of-22 from the free throw line (86.4 percent), their second-highest free throw shooting percentage of the year … Hooker went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, the second time this season he has made 10 or more free throws … KSU recorded 28 rebounds on the night, only the third time this season the Owls logged less than 30 boards … The Owls shot a season-low 24.4 percent against Liberty … Spencer Antonio tied his career-high with two blocks.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Al Skinner
On the difference between the first and second halves…
"Obviously that second 20 minutes has been a problem for us, it's something that we have to correct. Our execution has to improve so that we get the quality shots that we want, but defensively as a team we need to be more alert. In the first half the defense was in front of us and everyone is helping each other, the second half the defense is away from us and our recognition has been slow so that has to improve."
 
Up next: The Owls close out their three-game homestand Saturday afternoon, hosting FGCU at 4:30 p.m.