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KENNESAW, Ga. – A tremendous defensive effort from the Kennesaw State men's basketball team kept Lipscomb in check during the first half, but the Bisons picked up their pace in the second half, stampeding to an 83-57 victory Saturday evening.
 
Tyler Hooker led the team with 23 points, the ninth time this year he's scored 20 or more points, to become the newest member of the 1,000-career points club at KSU.
 
How it happened: The Owls (5-22, 2-10) took it to Lipscomb (21-5, 12-1) out of the gates going on a 7-0 run, capped off by a three-pointer from Bobby Parker, to lead 7-2 at the 15:05 mark. Both squads traded buckets until a 6-0 run gave Lipscomb its first lead of the night, 14-11, with 8:58 to play.
 
Danny Lewis answered with a three-pointer from beyond the arc, and one at the free throw line, to keep the two teams level 17-17. The Bisons then seized control with a 7-0 run to lead 24-17 with 5:30 to go. KSU attempted to cut into the lead, but Lipscomb had an answer for each Owl bucket.
 
Lewis kept the Owls alive with the final four points of the half, draining a jumper as time expired to pull KSU within four, 33-29, at halftime. The Owls kept Lipscomb and the ASUN's leading scorer Garrison Mathews in check during the first half, holding Mathews to 0-of-7 from the floor.
 
In the second half Mathews and the Bisons picked up the tempo with Lipscomb earning three points the hard way to open the period. Mathews then sank his first bucket of the game giving Lipscomb back-to-back three-pointers to lead 42-31 at the 17:20 mark.
 
KSU worked the lead back down to single-digits following free throws from Hooker and a layup from Bryson Lockley, but the Bisons pulled away following a 7-0 run to lead 51-37 with 13:30 to play. The Owls kept it close throughout the half, but could not get the lead back down to single-digits as the Bisons heated up from the floor, shooting around 70 percent at one point.
 
Following back-to-back layups from Hooker and Lockley, Lipscomb rattled off the next five points to earn its largest lead of the night, 74-55, with just over three minutes left in the game. Both squads went point-for-point the rest of the way with a last second jumper from Ugo Obineke earning the final score of 83-67.
 
Notes: Tyler Hooker led all scorers with 23 points, recording 17 in the second half … For his career Hooker has scored 1,002 points … Bobby Parker logged his fifth game in a row, seventh of the last eight, with 10 or more points scoring 17 … Danny Lewis was the third Owl in double-digits with 10 points, scoring all 10 in the first half … Isaac Mbuyamba pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds, the third time this season he's recorded double-digit boards … Bryson Lockley recorded one block on the night, his fourth straight game with at least one block … Lipscomb out-scored KSU 38-18 in the paint.
 
Up next: The Owls square off with North Alabama, hosting the Lions Wednesday (Feb. 20) at 7 p.m.