Monday, January 21
7:30 p.m. EST  – Kennesaw State (3-16, 0-4) at Lipscomb (13-4, 4-0)
Location: Nashville, Tenn. | Allen Arena
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game Notes: KSU

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team hits the road to take on Lipscomb Monday, looking to upset one of the two undefeated teams left in the ASUN.
» Freshman Danny Lewis is coming off one of his best performances in an Owl uniform, leading the team with 16 points against FGCU, one shy of his career-high. The Atlanta, Ga., native dished out a career-high seven assists in KSU's most recent game while pulling down six boards, another career-high.
» The Owls got back on the plus side against FGCU, out-rebounding the Eagles 37-34. KSU is currently tied for fourth in the conference averaging 36.2 rebounds per game, a mark that would break the KSU single-season DI record.
» Bryson Lockley ranks fifth in the league, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game after pulling down nine boards against FGCU, his sixth game this year with nine or more rebounds.
» Tyler Hooker kept his double-digit streak alive, netting 13 points in KSU's most recent game, extending it to 13 games. Hooker is currently second in the ASUN averaging 18.6 points per game and is one of two players to log over 350 points on the year.
» The Owls have been deadly from the free throw line, netting 249 buckets form the charity stripe, the fifth most in the league. In conference play, the Owls are shooting 75.6 percent from the line to lead the league.
» Despite recording 15 turnovers against FGCU, the Owls have been taking care of the ball very well as of late, averaging 12.5 turnovers per game in conference play to rank third in the league.

The Matchup
The 2017-18 ASUN Tournament champions are enjoying another tremendous start to the year, standing at 13-4 overall while being one of two undefeated teams in ASUN play. The Bisons are 4-0 in league play and are the top-scoring team in the league, averaging 84.6 points per game, a mark that ranks 16th in the NCAA.

Lipscomb has two of the top-five scorers in the conference in Garrison Mathews (18.1 ppg) and Rob Marberry (16.8) who rank third and fourth, respectively. Mathews is one of three players in the league, including KSU's Tyler Hooker, to average over 18 points per game.

The Bisons' Kenny Cooper is one of the top players in the conference in regards to hustle stats, ranking second for steals (37) and fourth for assists (70).

Lipscomb also ranks second in the ASUN for rebounding, averaging 37.4 per game, thanks in large part to Eli Pepper who stands at 6th in the league averaging 7.1 boards per game.

Last Time Out
Danny Lewis helped spur a late rally for the Owls in the second half against FGCU, putting up career numbers in rebounds and assists, but it was not enough to overcome the early deficit as KSU fell to the Eagles 72-59.

The Eagles jumped out to an early lead behind a hot-shooting Schadrac Casimir who went 4-of-4 from three-point range in the opening minutes to give FGCU a 17-6 lead. FGCU extended its lead to 21-6 behind a 7-0 run before Tyler Hooker sparked an 8-0 run for KSU to pull within 10, 21-14, with just under 10 minutes to play.

FGCU pushed its lead back to double-digits, 32-18, behind a 9-2 run, capped off by another three-pointer at the 5:10 mark. The two squads proceeded to trade buckets for the rest of the half, with a last second layup giving FGCU a 40-28 lead at the break.

At the half, FGCU's Casimir led all scorers with 23 points, going 5-of-7 from three-point range.

After knocking down a three-pointer to open the second half, the Eagles pushed their lead to as high as 21 points, 54-33, following a 5-0 run. After trading buckets, the Owls pulled themselves back into it as Hooker drained a three-pointer to spark a 13-0 run to make it 63-55 with 4:32 left in the game.

Lewis netted seven points during the Owls' run, recording 12 of his 16 points in the second half. That was as close as KSU would get though as the Owls went without a bucket for the final four minutes of the game, scoring their final four points from the free throw line.

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.

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 ranks second in the ASUN averaging 18.6 points per game and is one of two players in the league to have over 350 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 92 made buckets at the charity stripe to lead the league. His 84.4 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 842 career points heading into Monday's game.

Not done there, Hooker also ranks among the conference's best for steals (T-6th) and assists (T-13th).

Free Money
The Owls have been on fire from the free throw line shooting 70 percent or better in the last three games, sinking 10 or more in the last five games. In conference play, KSU leads the league shooting 75.6 percent at the line, the only team shooting 70 percent or better.

The Owls are tied for fifth in the league with 249 made free throw attempts.

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 leads the conference with 92 made free throws on the year while ranked fourth shooting 84.4 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 only once, going 1-of-2 at Samford. He needs only 24 more made free throws this year to crack the single-season record list.

Bryson Lockley is second on the squad with 51 made free throws to rank 10th in the conference. 

Oh Danny Boy
Earning his first career starts in the last three games, redshirt freshman Danny Lewis is coming off one of his best performances as an Owl against FGCU.

Lewis led the team with 16 points, one-point shy of his career-high, marking the first time he has been the Owls' leading scorer. The Atlanta, Ga., native finished with a career-high seven assists, recording six in the first half, and six rebounds.

Lewis has hit double-figures in four games this year, recording a career-high 17 points against Southeastern.

Lewis is currently averaging 8.1 points per game, one of three Owls to average over eight points per game.

Now Boarding
KSU bounced back on the boards against FGCU outrebounding the Eagles 37-35 to record its 14th game this year with 35 or more rebounds. The Owls are tied for fourth in the league averaging 36.2 rebounds 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 fifth in the conference averaging 7.2 rebounds per game while Isaac Mbuyamba (5.0 rpg) and Kosta Jankovic (4.8 rpg) rank 16th and 18th, respectively.

KSU's current 36.2 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, while adding 11 points.

The Houston, Texas native leads the team and ranks fifth in the ASUN averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. He is one of four players in the conference to record over 130 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 (125), 30 assists (31) 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 five or more three-pointers in four of the last six games. To put that in perspective, before the current stretch the Owls had only accomplished that feat four times.

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 12th in the league with 29 made three-pointers this season.

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
Tyler Hooker and Bryson Lockley have long-lasting batteries ranking among the ASUN's top-10 for minutes per game.

Hooker ranks second averaging 35.4 minutes per game followed by Lockley in sixth averaging 32.2 minutes per game.

Looking Ahead
The Owls head to Alabama to take on another new member to the ASUN, North Alabama, Thursday at 6 p.m.

 

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