Wednesday, January 30
7 p.m.  – Kennesaw State (3-18, 0-6) vs North Florida (9-14, 3-5)
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. | Convocation Center
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game Notes: KSU

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team takes a brief respite from its road trip to square off with North Florida in a midweek matchup this Wednesday at the Convocation Center.
» Both KSU and UNF look to snap their current losing skids with UNF riding a four-game losing streak heading into Wednesday's meeting while KSU looks for its first ASUN win of the year.
» Tyler Hooker nearly carried the Owls to a victory at UNA, netting a career-high 33 points against the Lions, almost half of KSU's 71 total points. Hooker ranks second in the ASUN with 19.2 points per game, averaging 21.2 points per game in conference play.
» The Owls have come up big at the free throw line, shooting over 70 percent in four of the last five games. In ASUN play, KSU is shooting 75.6 percent from the line to lead the league. Tyler Hooker and Bryson Lockley both rank among the conference's top-10 for made free throws this season.
» Bryson Lockley recorded nine rebounds for the second time in the last three games at UNA. He ranks sixth in the conference averaging 7.2 rebounds per game, one of five players in the league with over 150 boards on the year.
» After pulling down a season-high 51 rebounds at North Alabama, KSU now ranks third in the league averaging 36.6 rebounds per game, a mark that would break the KSU single-season DI record.
» Both Isaac Mbuyamba and Antonio Spencer rank among the league's top-15 shot blockers with 21 and 15 blocks on the year, respectively. Mbuyamba is sixth while Spencer is tied for 14th.

The Matchup
North Florida comes to Kennesaw looking to snap a four-game losing streak after dropping its most recent game at FGCU 88-80. On the year the Ospreys are 9-14 overall and 3-5 in ASUN play.

Huge threats around the rim, the Ospreys are ranked second in the league for rebounds (37.8) and blocks (4.9) per game. On the offensive side of the court, UNF is the second-highest scoring team in the ASUN averaging 76.9 points per game. Five Ospreys are currently averaging over 10 points per game.

Junior Noah Horchler leads the team and is ranked second in the conference for rebounds per game (9.6) while fourth for points per game (16.0).

Horchler is also one of two Ospreys to be ranked in the top-five in the league for total blocks with 37 (3rd). Wajid Aminu is ranked second with 43 total blocks, one of two players with over 40 blocks on the year.

Last Time Out
Tyler Hooker helped the Owls overcome an 18-point deficit in the second half to pull within one of North Alabama, but KSU could not complete the comeback despite Hooker's career-high 33 points, falling to UNA 76-71.

The Owls and Lions both opened the game with 5-0 runs to remain tied at the first media timeout. UNA then proceeded to go on a 10-2 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Jamari Blackmon, to take a 15-7 advantage with 12:57 to play.

The two teams traded buckets throughout the half as KSU attempted to keep the UNA lead within single-digits. UNA eventually closed out the half on a 10-1 run, sinking a three-pointer with seven seconds left to lead 42-27 at halftime.

Hooker started to come alive as the game went on, going on two separate six point runs for the Owls, including six of KSU's final seven points of the half, to finish the period with a team-high 12 points.

The Owls did a great job on the boards in the first half out-rebounding UNA 11-5 offensively, but couldn't take advantage with only four second chance points. KSU shot 27.8 percent in the first half compared to 46.9 percent for UNA, including 6-of-8 from three-point range.

After opening the second half with yet another three-pointer from UNA, Danny Lewis kept KSU alive with the next six points as both teams went point-for-point. Hooker pulled the Owls within single-digits following an 8-0 run from the Simpsonville, S.C., native to make it 55-46 at the 12-minute mark.

Another five straight points from Hooker made it 57-51 with 10 minutes to go. The Owls tried to break through, shooting over 50 percent throughout most of the second half, but UNA was able to answer each KSU bucket to maintain a four-point lead.

Hooker finally broke through with a layup and two free throws to make it a one-point game, 64-63, with just under four minutes left. The Lions regained their cushion with a 5-0 run as KSU went scoreless for the next three minutes. Hooker ended the drought with a jumper at the one-minute mark, but UNA responded with a bucket of its own.

The final minute was played out at the free throw line before Bobby Parker's last second three-point bucket earned the final score of 76-71. KSU out-scored UNA 44-34 in the second half, finishing the period shooting 44.8 percent from the floor.

Balling Out
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has been on another level this season, coming off a career-high 33-point performance at North Alabama, his second game this year with 30 or more points. So far this season he has scored 10 or more points in all but one game, 20 or more points in seven contests.

His 33 points scored against UNA was only three points shy of tying the KSU DI single-game record.

The Simpsonville, S.C., native ranks second in the ASUN averaging 19.2 points per game and is one of two players in the league to have over 400 points on the year, recording over 300 points in back-to-back seasons.

In ASUN play, Hooker is averaging 21.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, logging five or more rebounds in six of the last seven games.

If he can continue at this pace, Hooker would become just the fifth Owl in DI history to average over 19 points per game in a single-season. Hooker also has the chance to rank among KSU's top-10 single-season scorers all-time for total points.

So far in his career, Hooker has logged 893 points as an Owl, putting him within range of joining the illustrious 1,000-point club before the season is over.

Not only is he deadly from the floor, but he has been lights out at the free throw line, leading the league with 108 made buckets from the charity stripe while ranked third with an 84.4 shooting percentage.

Rounding out his stellar performance this season, Hooker also ranks among the conference's best for steals (6th) and assists (15th).

At The Stripe
The Owls have been one of the hottest shooting teams from the free throw line during ASUN play, shooting 70 percent or better in four of the last five games. In conference play, KSU leads the league shooting 75.6 percent at the line.

The Owls are sixth overall in the league with 286 made free throws, having made 10 or more free throws in seven straight games. KSU has recorded 20 or more free throws in three games, including 31 against Eastern Kentucky, a mark that is tied for third most all-time in a single-game.

Tyler Hooker leads the conference with 108 made free throws on the year, one of two players with over 100 made buckets. He is also ranked third in the league 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.

Hooker broke the century mark on the year after going 13-of-14 from the charity stripe at North Alabama, tying his career-high set earlier this season against EKU. He needs only eight more made free throws this year to crack the single-season record list.

Following the UNA game, Hooker broke onto the top-10 career made free throws list, surpassing Delbert Love (2011-15) for 10th with 236 made buckets. This year he has made 10 or more free throws in three games.

Bryson Lockley has been another clutch shooter at the line with 60 made free throws to rank ninth in the league. 

Now Boarding
The Owls pulled down a season-high 51 rebounds in their last game at North Alabama. That total is the second-most rebounds in a single-game, just four boards shy of the KSU DI record, while marking only the third time in DI history that the Owls have secured 50 or more rebounds.

So far this year, the Owls are averaging 36.6 rebounds per game to rank third in the ASUN. It would also set a new DI single-season record previously established in 2016-17.

KSU has recorded 30 or more rebounds in all but three games this year.

Three Owls are currently ranked among the conference's top-20 for rebounds per game. Lockley ranks sixth in the conference averaging 7.2 rebounds per game while Isaac Mbuyamba (5.2 rpg) and Tyler Hooker (4.7 rpg) rank 16th and 19th, respectively.

Mbuyamba tied his career-high with 12 rebounds at UNA to mark the second time this season he has recorded double-digit boards. Three Owls have recorded 10 or more rebounds in a game this season with Lockley accomplishing the feat four times, followed by Mbuyamba twice and Kosta Jankovic once.

Double Parked
Junior transfer Bobby Parker has stepped his game up during conference play, hitting double-digits in three of the last five games. In conference play, Parker is second on the team, 24th in the league, averaging 9.3 points per game, compared to 6.5 points per game during the non-conference slate.

The Crete, Ill., native made his way back into the starting lineup for the first time since KSU's season-opener, starting the last four games. 

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. Over the past three games, he has been within shooting range of recording his fourth double-double of the year, recording at least seven points and seven rebounds in each contest.

During KSU's conference-opener at NJIT, he logged his third double-double by 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 sixth in the ASUN averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. He is one of five players in the conference to record over 150 rebounds on the year.

He has nearly doubled his scoring production from a year ago, averaging 6.8 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 (142), 30 assists (35) and 10 steals (12) on the year. He is also third on the squad for blocks with six.

It's A Block Party!
Junior Isaac Mbuyamba has wreaked havoc at the rim this year, leading the team with 21 blocks to rank sixth in the ASUN. He is one of only seven players in the league to record 20 or more blocks on the year.

In KSU's recent game at Lipscomb, he logged three blocks marking the sixth time this season he has recorded two or more blocks in a game.

At Gardner-Webb Mbuyamba recorded a career-high six blocks to set 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.

The Portland, Ore., product has a shot at cracking the career block top-10 list this season with 48 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 four or more blocks six times this year, and at least one block in all but three games.

Freshman Antonio Spencer logged two blocks for the fourth time this year at UNA to move into a tie for 14th in the conference with 15 total blocks.

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 35.6 minutes per game followed by Lockley in eighth averaging 31.3 minutes per game.

Hooker has played 40 or more minutes in four games this season.

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 finished tied for fourth in 2016-17, its best program finish in DI history.

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 Wednesday's game, the Owls head to Florida for games at Stetson, Saturday Feb. 2, followed by Jacksonville, Wednesday Feb. 6.

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