Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML) | Photo Gallery

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team put Wofford on its heels early, but the Terriers got hot from distance late to pull away and down the Owls 83-70 Sunday afternoon.
 
Terrell Burden went off for a career-high 21 points to lead four Owls in double-figures, including 17 from Bryson Lockley to tie his career-high and 11 from Jamie Lewis in his first appearance as an Owl.
 
How it Happened: Wofford (8-5) jumped out to a 6-0 lead before a three-pointer from Adili Kuerban got the Owls (1-11) on the board. The two squads traded buckets as the Terriers maintained an eight-point lead, 23-15, with over 11 minutes to play. Burden pulled the Owls within three, 23-20, following a jumper and three points the hard way.
 
After Wofford pushed its lead back out to 32-23 following a 6-0 run, another trey from Kuerban sparked life into KSU. The Owls proceeded to close out the half on a monstrous 14-2 run in the final six minutes to head into halftime in front 37-34. KSU was 6-of-13 from three-point range in the first half.
 
Following a jumper from Burden to open the second half, Wofford found its touch, netting three straight three-pointers to regain the lead 43-42 at the 17:42 mark. Both squads traded free throws until a 9-0 run put the Terriers on top 54-45 with 13:34 to go. The two teams proceeded to go back-and-forth once again until Wofford broke it open with a 7-0 run to lead by 15, 72-57, with just over four minutes to go.
 
Not backing down, the Owls answered with a 7-0 run of their own, thanks to an and-one opportunity followed by a steal and slam by Lockley, to cut the lead to single-digits, 72-64, with 3:24 still to play. The Terriers squashed the momentum with a three-pointer on the following possession, keeping KSU at arm's length the rest of the way to earn the 83-70 win.
 
After making only two three-pointers in the first half, Wofford went 8-of-15 from beyond the arc in the second half to pull away from the Owls.
 
Notes: Terrell Burden's 21 points marks the first 20-point game of his career … Burden also led the team with five assists while adding four rebounds … Bryson Lockley tied his career-high for the third time … Jaime Lewis logged 30 minutes in his first career appearance, finishing with 11 points and going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc … Ugo Obineke was the fourth Owl in double-figures with 14 points, the third time in the last four games he's hit double-digits … Adili Kuerban led the team with a career-high six rebounds while going 2-of-4 from three-point range for seven points … KSU finished with eight made three-pointers compared to 10 for Wofford … the Terriers had 22 fast break points in the second half compared to eight for the Owls … Wofford out-rebounded KSU 40-27.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
On the fight vs Wofford…
"That's a heck of a program. What Coach [Mike] Young, who's now at Virginia Tech, has built, it's been a great program for a long time and Jay [McAuley], who's a local guy like myself, you can't be happier for a guy like him. To not only inherit that program but in a sense not skip a beat, I give a lot of credit to them. Their kids are tough, they're battle tested, they've been through a lot of wars and they have a lot of kids who have played in championship games. So, for our kids to come out and fight and respond the way they did, I'm really proud of them. There are no moral victories in our program, but when you are building a program and establishing a culture, I think small victories are really important. I was proud of our fight, I was proud of our discipline. We're getting better."
 
On Terrell Burden's play…
"That kid that played today, that's the kid that we recruited, the kid we signed. His ability is really good, and we are really proud of how he played today. We need to get him to be more consistent in being aggressive and not only creating for himself, but for others, but unbelievably proud of him. For him to bounce back today vs a guy like Storm Murphy who is a heck of a leader, it says a lot about who he is and what he can become in this league and for our program."
 
Up Next: The Owls will take some time off to enjoy the holidays before closing out their non-conference schedule on the road at Iowa Sunday (Dec. 29) at 4 p.m.