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

KENNESAW, Ga. – Tyler Hooker's monster night was not enough to push the Kennesaw State men's basketball team to victory Saturday evening as the Owls fell to Jacksonville 83-64 in the Convocation Center.
 
Hooker went off for a season-high 30 points to lead the Owls, his fourth career game with 30 or more points. He also added a season-high four steals to go along with four rebounds and two assists.
 
How it Happened: The Owls (1-19, 0-7) and Dolphins (10-12, 3-4) traded points in the opening minutes as a three-pointer from Ugo Obineke and a dunk from Hooker kept the Owls on level terms at 7-7. The two squads continued to go back-and-forth with JU holding a slim 17-15 lead following two straight buckets from Hooker with 10 minutes to play.
 
KSU kept it close until a quick 10-2 swing pushed Jacksonville's lead to double-digits, 33-21, at the 5:20 mark. JU extended its lead in the final minutes of the half as KSU went without a made field goal in the final six minutes, going 7-for-7 from the free throw line down the stretch. The Dolphins closed out the half on a 10-2 run to lead 45-28 at the break.
 
The Owls came out firing to open the second half, outscoring JU 10-5 in the first four minutes to cut the lead to 50-38. JU flipped the momentum with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to open a 17-6 run over the next six minutes to lead 67-44.
 
KSU could not seem to break the 23-point barrier as Jacksonville answered each KSU bucket to maintain its lead. The Owls managed to cut the lead under 20, closing out the game on a 6-2 run to earn the final score of 83-64.
 
Notes: Tyler Hooker netted a season-high 10 field goals to mark his fourth game this year with 20+ points … Ugo Obineke and Jamie Lewis each finished in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively … Obineke tied his season-high with six rebounds … KSU was 20-24 from the free throw line, its third game this year with 20 or more made free throws … the Owls were 2-for-12 from three-point range compared to 9-for-20 by Jacksonville.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
On tonight's effort...
"I thought our effort was better tonight, more consistent defensively, even though you give up 83 points, but I thought our effort was better. We just have to take care of the ball a little more and I think the shots we are getting are starting to go in. I was pleased with their effort consistently throughout the game. We didn't have those lulls where we kind of stop playing all together. We got it to 12 a couple of times and we got stops and then gave it back and they'd come up with a big three and stretch it back to 15. That type of stuff is just hard to overcome when it happens two or three times. We just have to keep working, keep playing hard and then shore up when we get the rebound, securing it and keep the ball moving, but I was pleased with our effort tonight."

On Tyler Hooker...
"I thought he was much better tonight creating for others early on and I think that opened it up for him as the game went on. I thought he did a good job with his decision making. I think the other guys, in a sense, being good in the small areas of our cutting and our spacing allowed him to have a good night so I was happy with him being able to get it on again and I was happy about our guys just with our execution."

Up Next: The Owls hit the road to take on Liberty next Thursday (Jan. 30) before starting out the second half of ASUN play at North Florida Saturday (Feb. 1).