Wednesday, February 13
7 p.m.  – Kennesaw State (5-20, 2-8) at North Florida (10-16, 4-7)
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. | UNF Arena
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Game Notes: KSU

Top Storylines
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team travels south to take on North Florida Wednesday looking for the season sweep over the Ospreys after winning the first meeting this season at the Convocation Center. The Owls are also searching for their first road win of the year.
» Bobby Parker has found his stroke, netting 10 or more point in six of the last seven games, including a 20-point performance at Jacksonville in which he went 6-of-7 from three-point range. Parker was honored by the league this past Monday, being named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week, the Owls first weekly award of the year.
» Tyler Hooker continues to be one of the hottest shooters in the conference, scoring at least 15 points in the last six games. He is currently ranked second in the league averaging 19 points per game and is the only player in the ASUN to log over 475 points on the year (476).
» Freshman Antonio Spencer has become a consistent threat around the rim as of late, recording at least one block in six straight games. After sitting at 24th in the league for blocks, Spencer has skyrocketed to ninth with 22 blocks on the year. Isaac Mbuyamaba leads the team and is ranked fifth with 28 total blocks.
» The Owls remain one of the top-rebounding teams in the conference, averaging 36.7 boards per game to rank third. In conference play. Four Owls rank among the league's top-25 for rebounds per game, led by Bryson Lockley in sixth averaging 7.4 rebounds per game.

The Matchup
The Ospreys are riding high heading into Wednesday's game after snapping a six-game losing streak at North Alabama this past Saturday. Following UNF's 82-73 win over the Lions, the Ospreys are now 10-16 overall and 4-7 in the ASUN.

UNF has a slim 20-19 series advantage over KSU, but the Owls have won three of the last four meetings. The last time KSU won at UNF arena was a 63-54 shootout in 2008.

North Florida is one of the top rebounding and assisting teams in the conference ranked second in the league for both rebounds per game (37.4) and assists per game (15.8).

The UNF offense runs through junior Noah Horchler who ranks fourth in the conference for points per game (16.0) and second for rebounds per game (9.2). Horchler's partner in crime Ivan Gandia-Rose leads the conference in assists with 149 total dimes, more than 50 assists over the next closest player in the league.  

Last Time Out
A tight back-and-forth affair between the Owls and NJIT came down to the wire this past Saturday as freshman Ugo Obineke sank a jumper with seconds left to lift KSU over the Highlanders 63-62.

The tone was set early on as the Owls and the Highlanders came out of the gate trading shots with back-to-back buckets from Bobby Parker giving KSU a 7-6 advantage at the 16:35 mark. After two free throws from Tyler Hooker, NJIT went on a 7-0 run to regain the lead 13-9.

NJIT maintained its slim lead as the two defenses held one another scoreless for over three minutes before a jumper from Danny Lewis ended the stalemate. KSU eventually tied the game back up, 21-21, following jumpers from Obineke and Hooker with just over four minutes left in the half.

The Highlanders answered with two straight three-pointers, but four points from Isaac Mbuyamba pulled KSU within two, 30-28, at the end of the half.

After a layup from Bryson Lockley to open the second half put both teams on level terms, KSU and NJIT proceeded to go point-for-point with the Highlanders maintaining a slim 44-43 lead midway through the period. The two teams traded buckets, and the lead, for the next seven minutes, playing to a 56-56 tie following a jumper from Hooker with 3:19 to play.

Following two free throws by the Highlanders, Parker put the KSU back in front with a clutch three-pointer at the 1:22 mark. NJIT's Zach Cooks responded on the other end with a layup and the foul to swing the score in favor of the Highlanders, 61-59. Cooks missed the ensuing free throw leading to a fadeaway jumper from Kosta Jankovic to force a timeout from NJIT with KSU leading 61-60 and 37 seconds to play.

Out of the timeout, the Highlanders earned a trip to the free throw line following a foul from Obineke. After NJIT's Diandre Wilson made both free throws, the freshman from Rowlett, Texas made up for the error, working his way around the paint for a catch-and-shoot jumper to give KSU the 63-62 lead. The Highlanders attempted a last second shot of their own, but the missed layup fell into the hands of Obineke.

Put It In Park
Junior Transfer Bobby Parker has been a revelation during ASUN play, scoring 10 or more points in six of the last seven games. During league play, he is averaging 12.2 points per game, compared to 6.5 points during the non-conference slate, to rank 16th in the league.

During the current seven-game stretch, Parker has made at least two three-pointers in six games, including a 6-of-7 performance at Jacksonville for 20 points. The Crete, Ill., native earned the Owls' first weekly award of the year this past Monday, being named the ASUN Newcomer of the Week.

Parker leads the team shooting 42 percent from the floor which ranks 21st in the league, while ranked ninth with a 37.5 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.

In league play, Parker has netted 21 three-pointers to rank seventh in the conference.

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 eight contests, while netting at least 15 points in the last six games.

The Simpsonville, S.C., native ranks second in the ASUN averaging 19.0 points per game and is the only player in the league to net more than 475 points on the year, recording over 300 points in back-to-back seasons.

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 needs just 44 more points this year to crack the top-10 single-season record list for total points.

So far in his career, Hooker has logged 965 points as an Owl, putting him within range of joining the illustrious 1,000-point club before the season is over.

Hooker has been deadly from the free throw line, leading the league with 128 made buckets from the charity stripe, ranking fourth with an 83.7 shooting percentage.

Rounding out his stellar performance this season, Hooker also ranks among the conference's best for steals (6th) and assists (5th).

It's A Block Party!
The Owls recorded a season-high nine blocks in their recent game at Jacksonville, a mark that ranks second in DI single-game history, just one block shy of the overall record.

As a team, the Owls are fourth in the conference averaging 3.1 blocks per game having recorded three or more blocks in six straight games.

Freshman Antonio Spencer has been on a tear, recording at least one block in the last six straight games, including a career-high three blocks against North Florida.

Spencer is currently ninth in the league with 22 blocks this season, recording 12 during league play.

At Jacksonville, Isaac Mbuyamba logged his second game this year with five or more blocks with five stuffs to tie the previous DI single-game record. At Gardner-Webb Mbuyamba recorded a career-high six blocks to set the 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 currently ranks fifth in the ASUN with 28 total blocks, needing just five more to tie Devon Kirksey (1997-98) for 10th on the KSU single-season record list.

With 55 blocks in his career, the Portland, Ore., product is just three blocks shy of cracking the KSU career blocks top-10.

Spencer and Isaac Mbuyamba are two of 10 players in the league to record at least 20 blocks on the year, combining to record 50 of KSU's 78 blocks this year.

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.

Four Owls are currently ranked among the conference's top-25 for rebounds per game. Lockley ranks sixth in the conference averaging 7.4 rebounds per game while Isaac Mbuyamba (5.3 rpg), Tyler Hooker (4.5 rpg) and Kosta Jankovic (4.3) rank 15th, 21st and 24th, 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.

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 all but three games. In conference play, KSU is second in the league shooting 73.8 percent at the line.

The Owls are sixth overall in the league with 328 made free throws. 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.

KSU's 68.8 shooting percentage from the free throw line would rank among the top-10 DI single-season performances.

Tyler Hooker leads the conference with 128 made free throws on the year, one of four players with over 100 made buckets. He is also ranked fourth in the league shooting 83.7 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.

After going 7-of-9 from the line against NJIT, Hooker moved into fifth on the DI single-season record list.

Hooker also ranks among the top-10 scorers for career made free throws, recording 256 free throws to rank eighth. This year he has made 10 or more free throws in three games.

Bryson Lockley has been another clutch shooter at the line with 66 made free throws to rank eighth in the league. 

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 game against North Florida, and nearly earning his fifth at Stetson with nine points and nine rebounds.

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 ranks sixth in the ASUN averaging 7.4 rebounds per game. He is one of seven players in the conference to record over 175 rebounds on the year.

He has nearly doubled his scoring production from a year ago, averaging 7.0 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 is second on the team with 42 assists on the year, good enough for 29th in the league. He is one of two Owls, the other being Tyler Hooker, to record over 150 points (176), 40 assists (42) and 10 steals (16) on the year. He is also third on the squad for blocks with 11.

From Long Distance!
Bobby Parker put on yet another display from three-point range in KSU's recent game at Jacksonville, becoming the third Owl this season to net six treys in a single-game. Parker has recorded five or more three-pointers twice this year, shooting 37.5 percent from beyond the arc to rank ninth in the conference.

Parker, Tyler Hooker and Kosta Jankovic have all recorded six three-pointers in a game this year, the second most treys made in a single-game in KSU DI history.

At Yale, Jankovic went 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, missing his first three-pointer halfway through the second half, while Hooker went 6-of-10 against Tennessee Tech.

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

Hooker is currently ranked 21st in the league with 32 made three-pointers this season.

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 36.1 minutes per game followed by Lockley in eighth averaging 31.0 minutes per game.

Hooker has played 40 or more minutes in six games this season, including three of the last five games.

Looking Ahead
The Owls host league-leaders Lipscomb Saturday at 4:30 for KSU's Casino Night.
 

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