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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Junior transfer Bobby Parker lit it up from three-point range, going 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, but it was not enough to secure the win for the Kennesaw State men's basketball team as Jacksonville came storming back in the second half to down the Owls 82-73. 
 
Parker's six made three-pointers ties his career-high and marks the second-most three-pointers made in a single-game in DI history. 
 
How it happened: Parker got the Owls (4-20, 1-8) rolling to open the game, going 3-of-3 from beyond the arc to give KSU a 13-11 lead at the 15:30 mark. After the Owls and Dolphins (11-14, 4-6) traded buckets, a jump shot from Tyler Hooker sparked an 8-0 run for the Owls to lead 21-13 with just over 10 minutes to go.
 
Another four straight points from Hooker pushed the Owls' lead to double-figures, 25-15, as the two teams proceeded to go shot-for-shot in the final minutes. Back-to-back layups from Hooker gave KSU its largest lead of the half, 37-25, before a quick layup from JU sent the Owls into halftime with a 10-point lead, 37-27. 
 
Hooker turned up the heat late in the first half after making only one bucket throughout the first 10 minutes, recording 10 points over the next eight minutes to lead the team with 12.
 
Parker started the second half in similar fashion, knocking down back-to-back threes and going on to record KSU's first eight points of the second period. Following a layup from Hooker to earn KSU's largest lead of the game, 52-36, at the 14:32 mark, the Dolphins began to come alive going on a 7-0 run to cut the lead down to single-digits.
 
With just under 11 minutes left to play, JU picked up the tempo, going on an 11-0 run to earn its first lead of the game, 57-56, at the nine-minute mark. The Owls fought back to tie it at 60, but a quick 5-0 run gave Jacksonville some breathing room, 65-60. 
 
After a layup from Kyle Clarke, JU extended its lead with a 6-0 run for a 71-62 advantage at the 4:55 mark. KSU attempted to pull even, but the Dolphins managed to answer each Owl bucket to maintain its lead. JU outscored the Owls 55-36 in the second half to earn the final score.
 
Notes: Bobby Parker fell one-point shy of tying his season-high with 20 points … Tyler Hooker led all scorers with 22 points, marking the seventh time this season he has netted 20 or more points … this is the second straight game, fifth of the year, in which KSU has recorded at least seven made three-pointers … Isaac Mbuyamba recorded five blocks against the Dolphins, one block shy of his career-high and the single-game DI record he set earlier this year at Gardner-Webb … As a team, KSU recorded a season-high nine blocks, one block shy of the DI single-game record … The Owls recorded 36 rebounds against JU, their fourth straight game with 35 or more boards … Kyle Clarke and Antonio Spencer led the way with seven rebounds each, tying Clarke's career-high and falling one rebound shy of Spencer's career-mark … KSU went 6-of-6 at the free throw line, all made by Hooker, to snap a nine-game streak of 10 or more made free throws … Following tonight's game Hooker moved into a tie for sixth on the DI single-season made free throws list with 121 on the year … For his career, Hooker has made 249 free throws, good enough for ninth on the all-time KSU made free throws list … Jacksonville recorded 40 fast break points, compared to 12 for KSU, logging 34 of them in the second half … KSU committed 12 of its 18 turnovers in the second half resulting in 23 points for JU.
 
Up next: The Owls return home to host NJIT this Saturday in the annual Pink Day game slated for 4:30 p.m.