Saturday, February 2
4 p.m.  – Kennesaw State (4-18, 1-6) at Stetson (4-19, 0-8)
Location: DeLand, Fla. | Edmunds Center
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game Notes: KSU

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team looks to keep its momentum rolling this Saturday, traveling to Stetson to take on the Hatters at 4 p.m. The Owls are coming off their first ASUN win of the year, downing North Florida 81-64 to snap an eight-game losing streak.
» Bryson Lockley recorded his fourth double-double of the year against UNF, logging a career-high 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds while tying his career-high for assists (5) and steals (2).
» The Owls recorded a season-high 15 steals against the Ospreys tying the second-most steals ever recorded in a single-game in DI history. It marked the first time KSU has recorded 15 or more swipes since November 2013.
» Four Owls finished in double-figures against UNF with Bobby Parker netting 17, Danny Lewis 16, one-point shy of his career-high, and Tyler Hooker with 15. Hooker has recorded 10 or more points in 20 straight games and is currently ranked second in the ASUN averaging 19 points per game.
» KSU ranks third in the league averaging 36.7 rebounds per game which would set a new DI single-season record. Bryson Lockley leads the team and ranks tied for fourth in the league averaging 7.5 boards per game.
» The Owls tied their season-high with 21 assists against the Ospreys as four Owls finished with at least three dimes.
» Antonio Spencer swatted a career-high three blocks in KSU's last outing, vaulting him to a tie for 11th in the conference with 18 total blocks. Isaac Mbuyamba added a block to bring his season total to 22, good enough for sixth in the league.

The Matchup
The Hatters welcome Kennesaw State to DeLand looking to record their first conference win of the year. Stetson is currently 4-19 overall and 0-8 in league play, riding an eight-game losing streak heading into Saturday.

Despite their record, the Hatters are one of the top defensive teams in the conference ranked second in the league for steals per game (7.3) and fourth for blocks per game (3.2). Five Hatters have at least 15 swipes on the year, led by Jahlil Rawley with 30 to rank 11th in the conference.

Sophomore Kenny Aninye is one of the top assisters in the league, ranked second with 86 dimes on the year, one of four players in the conference with over 80 assists. Fellow sophomore Abayomi Iyiola is another threat for Stetson, tied for fourth in the league with 26 blocks this year.

Last Time Out
Bryson Lockley led the way with his fourth double-double of the season as the Owls put together a tremendous all-around performance to down North Florida 81-64 and earn their first conference win of the year.

After the Ospreys opened the game with a three-pointer, the Owls battled back with a 7-0 run to take a 9-5 lead at the 15:39 mark. UNF pulled it to within one, 11-10, following a three-pointer, but another 7-0 run gave KSU an 18-10 cushion with 11:25 to play.

KSU and UNF then proceeded to go point-for-point before a 6-0 run for the Owls, capped off by back-to-back buckets from Kyle Clarke, gave KSU its largest lead of the half, 38-24, with just over two minutes to go. The Owls kept their double-digit lead heading into halftime, 38-28.

The KSU defense wreaked havoc on the Ospreys, forcing 15 turnovers in the first half leading to 12 points for the Owls compared to zero for UNF. KSU shot 42.1 percent in the period while dominating the battle in the paint, outscoring UNF 22-14.

UNF looked to chip away at KSU's lead to open the second half going on a 9-3 run to get within four, 41-37, at the 17:47 mark. The Owls answered immediately with an 8-0 run to push their lead back to double-figures, 49-37.

The Owls kept their foot on the gas, shooting over 50 percent for the majority of the second half, to maintain a double-digit lead. Parker and Lockley stepped it up in the second period with Parker netting 10 points while Lockley went a perfect 4-of-4 for 11 points and six rebounds.

KSU pushed its lead to as high as 20 points, 73-53, following a quick 5-0 run with over four minutes left to play. UNF attempted to cut the lead down, but three points the hard way from Lockley followed by three points the traditional way from Tyler Hooker secured the final score of 81-64.

Got It On Lock
Bryson Lockley has done it all for the Owls this season, recording his fourth double-double of the year in KSU's recent game against North Florida. Over the past four games he has averaged 10.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

Against UNF, Lockley scored a career-high 17 points to go along with 12 rebounds, the fifth time this season he has recorded at least 10 boards.

The Houston, Texas native leads the team and is tied for fifth in the ASUN averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. In conference play, that average jumps up to 8.7. He is one of seven players in the conference to record over 150 rebounds on the year.

He has nearly doubled his scoring production from a year ago, averaging 7.2 points per game compared to 3.7 last season. This season he has scored in double-figures in seven games, compared to only two games during the 2017-18 campaign.

Lockley tied his career-high with five assists against the Ospreys to bring his season total up to 40 dimes, good enough for 25th in the league. He is one of two Owls, the other being Tyler Hooker, to record over 100 points (159), 30 assists (40) and 10 steals (14) on the year. He is also third on the squad for blocks with seven.

We'll Take That
The Owl defense played havoc against North Florida recording 15 steals while forcing 24 turnovers. Three Owls finished with at least three steals with Isaac Mbuyamba and Danny Lewis setting career-highs with four swipes each.

KSU's 15 steals marks a season-high while tying the second-most swipes in a single game in KSU DI history. The last time the Owls recorded 15 or more steals in a game was against Truett-McConnell in November of 2013.

The Owls' 24 turnovers forced is another season-high and marks the first time since February of 2016 that KSU has forced 20 or more turnovers. North Florida finished the game shooting 34.4 percent from the floor, its worst shooting percentage this season.

Balling Out
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker has been on another level this season, scoring 10 or more points in all but one game, 20 or more points in seven contests. In KSU's recent game at North Alabama, he netted a career-high 33-points, his second game this year with 30 or more points, falling just three points shy of tying the KSU DI single-game record.

The Simpsonville, S.C., native ranks second in the ASUN averaging 19.0 points per game and is one of two players in the league to score over 400 points on the year, recording over 300 points in back-to-back seasons.

In ASUN play, Hooker is averaging 20.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, logging five or more rebounds in seven of the last eight 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 908 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 112 made buckets from the charity stripe while ranked fourth with an 84.2 shooting percentage.

Rounding out his stellar performance this season, Hooker also ranks among the conference's best for steals (5th) and assists (T-10th).

Heating Up
New additions Bobby Parker and Danny Lewis have stepped up their games during conference play, hitting double-digits in three of the last four games.

In conference play, Parker is second on the team, 20th in the league, averaging 10.4 points per game, compared to 6.5 points per game during the non-conference slate. Over the past four games, Lewis is averaging 11.3 points per game after averaging only three points throughout the first three games of league play.

Both Parker and Lewis have become regular starters for the Owls after getting the nod against Liberty.

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 six games. In conference play, KSU is second in the league shooting 73.0 percent at the line.

The Owls are fifth overall in the league with 298 made free throws, having made 10 or more free throws in eight 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 112 made free throws on the year, one of two players with over 100 made buckets. He is also ranked fourth in the league shooting 84.2 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 four more made free throws this year to tie Herman Smith (88-89) for 10th on the KSU 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 65 made free throws to rank eighth in the league. 

Now Boarding
So far this year, KSU is averaging 36.7 rebounds per game to rank third in the ASUN. If maintained, that average would 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.

The Owls pulled down a season-high 51 rebounds in their recent 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.

Three Owls are currently ranked among the conference's top-20 for rebounds per game. Lockley ranks fifth in the conference averaging 7.5 rebounds per game while Isaac Mbuyamba (5.1 rpg) and Tyler Hooker (4.7 rpg) rank 16th and 19th, respectively.

Three Owls have recorded 10 or more rebounds in a game this season with Lockley accomplishing the feat five times, followed by Mbuyamba twice and Kosta Jankovic once.

It's A Block Party!
Junior Isaac Mbuyamba has wreaked havoc at the rim this year, leading the team with 22 blocks to rank sixth in the ASUN. He is one of only eight 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 49 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 seven times this year, and at least one block in all but three games.

Freshman Antonio Spencer recorded a career-high three blocks against North Florida to jump into a tie for 11th in the league with 18 total. Spencer and Mbuyamba have combined for 40 of KSU's 63 total blocks on the year.

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 35.8 minutes per game followed by Lockley in seventh averaging 31.5 minutes per game.

Hooker has played 40 or more minutes in five 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.

Looking Ahead
The Owls will continue their road swing through Florida following Saturday's game, taking on Jacksonville Wednesday (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m.

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