Saturday, January 19
4:30 p.m.  – Kennesaw State (3-15, 0-3) vs FGCU (5-13, 0-3)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats | Radio
Game Notes: KSU | FGCU

Top Storylines
» Something has to give as the Kennesaw State men's basketball team closes out its homestand Saturday against FGCU. Both the Owls and the Eagles are looking to snap five-game losing streaks and record their first ASUN win of the season.
» Tyler Hooker logged his ninth game in the last 10 with 15 or more points, netting a team-high 16 against Liberty. Hooker leads the ASUN averaging 18.9 points per game and is one of three players in the league to record over 300 points on the year.
» The Owls are currently fourth in the conference averaging 36.1 rebounds per game, having recorded 35 or more boards in all but five games. That mark would break the KSU single-season DI record.
» Bryson Lockley is one of three players in the conference to record over 125 rebounds this season. Lockley ranks seventh in the league, averaging 7.1 rebounds per game, more than double his production from a year ago.
» The Owls have been deadly from the free throw line, shooting 75.4 percent from the charity stripe over the past three games. Tyler Hooker logged his second game with 10 or more made free throws going 10-of-11 at the stripe against Liberty. He is second in the league with 86 made buckets this season.
» KSU has recorded 11 or fewer turnovers in three of the last four games. The Owls are averaging 14.2 turnovers per game, the third lowest mark in the conference.
» The Owls play some of the cleanest basketball in the league, averaging only 16.3 fouls per game to rank third in the ASUN and 50th in the NCAA. In fact, an Owl has fouled out of a game only three times this season.

The Matchup
Last season's ASUN regular season champions, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles have had an uncharacteristically poor start to the season, standing at 5-13 overall and 0-3 in league play. The Eagles come to Kennesaw looking to snap their current five-game skid and record their first conference win of the season.

FGCU is under the direction of first year head coach Michael Fly, who after seven seasons as an assistant at FGCU was promoted to head coach this past April. The Eagles are trying to fill the gap from last year after losing their top three leaders in points, assists and steals.

Redshirt Senior Haanif Cheatham currently leads the team averaging 13.2 points per game over his 10 games played. On the glass, RaySean Scott Jr. ranks fifth in the conference averaging 7.3 rebounds per game.

Last Time Out
The Owls put on a tremendous defensive effort in the first half against league-leading Liberty, but could not hold on late as the Flames got hot to down KSU. Tyler Hooker led the way for KSU in nearly every category, recording 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

The first half was a battle between the Owls and the Flames 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.

Got You Hooked
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has been a sight to watch this year, filling up the stat sheet and the scoreboard. So far this season he has scored in double-digits in all but one game, 20 or more points in six contests, recording 15 or more points in nine of the last 10 games.

Hooker set a new career-high this year with 30 points against Belmont before pouring in six three-pointers against Tennessee Tech, the second-most treys made in a single-game in DI history, to log 28 points. In KSU's conference-opener at NJIT, Hooker scored 15 straight points for the Owls spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second period.

The Simpsonville, S.C., native leads the ASUN averaging 18.9 points per game and is one of three players in the league to have over 300 points on the year. He has now recorded over 300 points in back-to-back seasons.

He also ranks among the conference's best at the free throw line with 86 made buckets at the charity stripe to rank second. His 83.5 shooting percentage from the free throw line ranks fourth in the league.

If he can continue at this pace, Hooker would not only rank among the top-10 single-season scorers all-time at KSU in both total points and points per game, but he would record his 1,000th career point as an Owl. He has scored 829 career points heading into Wednesday's game.

Not done there, Hooker also ranks among the conference's best for steals (6th) and assists (11th).

Free Money
The Owls have made the most of their chances at the charity stripe, shooting 60 percent or better in 10 of the last 11 games, sinking 10 or more in five of the last six games. In conference play, KSU leads the league shooting 75.4 percent at the line, the only team shooting 70 percent or better.

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.

Tyler Hooker currently ranks second in the conference with 86 made free throws on the year and fourth in the league shooting 83.5 percent at the line. He has not missed more than two free throws in a game all year, shooting less than 60 percent at the line once, going 1-of-2 at Samford. He needs only 30 more made free throws this year to crack the single-season record list.

Bryson Lockley is second on the squad with 48 made free throws to rank 12th in the conference. 

Now Boarding
Despite only recording only 28 rebounds against Liberty, the third time this year KSU has logged less than 30 rebounds, the Owls remain fourth in the league averaging 36.1 rebounds per game.

KSU has the second-highest mark in the league for offensive boards, averaging 11.6 per game.

The Owls neared their season-high with 44 rebounds during their ASUN-opener at NJIT, marking the fifth time this season KSU has logged 40 or more boards. Against the Highlanders, both Bryson Lockley and Isaac Mbuyamba hit double-figures for rebounding. Lockley tied his career-high, set earlier this year, with 14 rebounds while Mbuyamba set a new career mark with 12 boards, the first time in his career he has logged 10 or more rebounds.

Three Owls are currently ranked among the conference's top-20 for rebounds per game. Lockley ranks seventh in the conference averaging 7.1 rebounds per game while Isaac Mbuyamba (5.2 rpg) and Kosta Jankovic (4.9 rpg) rank 16th and 19th, respectively.

KSU's current 36.1 rebounds per game average would break the previous Division I single-season record of 35.9 set in 2016-17.

On Lock Down
Bryson Lockley has been a huge piece for the Owls in his second season at KSU, recording three double-doubles so far this season.

During KSU's conference-opener at NJIT, he logged his third double-double of the year, tying his career-high with 14 rebounds, the most by any player in the league on opening day.

The Houston, Texas native leads the team and ranks seventh in the ASUN averaging 7.1 rebounds per game. He is one of four players in the conference to record over 125 rebounds on the year.

He has nearly doubled his scoring production from a year ago, averaging 6.6 points per game compared to 3.7 last season.

Lockley is one of two Owls, the other being Tyler Hooker, to record over 100 points (118), 25 assists (29) and 10 steals (11) on the year. He is also third on the squad for blocks with six.

From Long Distance!
KSU has picked up its production from beyond the arc as of late, recording six or more three-pointers in three of the last five games. To put that in perspective, before the current stretch the Owls had only accomplished that feat twice.

At Yale, Kosta Jankovic became the second Owl this season to record six three-pointers in a single-game, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Jankovic did not miss his first three-pointer until halfway through the second half.

Only Tyler Hooker, 6-of-10 against Tennessee Tech, and Bobby Parker, 5-of-7 at Samford, have made five or more three-pointers in a game this year. Both Jankovic and Hooker's six made treys ties the second-most three-point field goals made in a single-game in KSU DI history.

Only two players in the league, JT Escobar of North Florida and Shadarac Casimir of FGCU, have recorded more three-pointers in a single-game.

Hooker is currently ranked 11th in the league with 28 made three-pointers this season. Jankovic is the team's most accurate shooter from three-point range, shooting 36.2 percent from the arc to rank 11th in the league.

It's A Block Party!
Junior Isaac Mbuyamba wreaked havoc at Gardner-Webb recording 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 18 total blocks on the year to rank tied for sixth in the ASUN for total blocks. The Portland, Ore., product has a shot at cracking the career block top-10 list this season with 45 blocks so far in his KSU career. Israel Brown (1989-93) currently holds the No. 10 spot with 58.

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, and at least one block in all but three games.

Freshman Antonio Spencer tied his career-high with two blocks against Liberty to bring his season total to 12 to rank tied for 14th in the conference.

Like The Energizer Bunny
Three Owls, Tyler Hooker, Bryson Lockley and Kosta Jankovic, have long-lasting batteries ranking among the ASUN's top-10 for minutes per game.

Hooker ranks second averaging 35.3 minutes per game followed by Lockley (32.0) in sixth and Jankovic (29.2) in 10th.

Protect The Nest
The Owls have done a good job of protecting their home court recording eight wins in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2015-16 campaign, KSU has only recorded eight home wins three times since joining Division I (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10).

All three of KSU's wins this season have come in the Convocation Center.

Looking Ahead
After Saturday's game, the Owls hit the road to take on the defending ASUN Tournament champions, Lipscomb, in Nashville Monday at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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