Box Score (HTML) | Box Score (PDF)

KENNESAW, Ga. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team pushed the visiting Hatters to the limit Saturday evening as a late comeback attempt for the Owls fell just short, 57-54.
 
Jamie Lewis recorded a career-high 21 points, 13 in the second half alone, to lead KSU while Ugo Obineke tied his season-high with 19.
 
How it Happened: After two straight jumpers from the Hatters (7-10, 1-1) to open the game, Obineke got the Owls (1-14, 0-2) rolling with back-to-back three-pointers to keep KSU within one, 7-6, at the 15:35 mark. The Rowlett, Texas native kept it going with another trey to put the Owls in front 9-7, he finished the first half with 12 points. KSU kept Stetson scoreless for nearly eight minutes as it went on a 9-0 run to lead 12-7 with just over 10 minutes still to play.
 
The Hatters clawed their way back in front behind a 6-0 run to regain the lead 13-12. The two squads proceeded to trade buckets over the final eight minutes as Lewis netted the Owls' final six points in the half. Stetson gained the edge, scoring a layup just before the buzzer sounded to take a 25-21 lead at halftime.
 
Obineke kept his foot on the gas to open the second half, finishing a massive alley-oop off the pass from Lewis. Stetson would push its lead to six, 31-25, before a three-pointer from C.J. Washington opened an 8-0 run to put the Owls on top 33-31 with 12:28 to go. The Hatters responded with a 5-0 run to regain the lead, but another three-pointer from Lewis put the teams back on level terms, 36-36.
 
Stetson then buckled down to make four straight buckets for a 10-3 swing to lead 46-39 with 5:45 left to play. Obineke finally halted the Hatters' run with his fourth three-pointer of the night, a career-high mark. Stetson managed to push its lead to double-figures with a 9-0 run to lead 55-42 with 1:20 left in the game.
 
The Owls did not go down without a fight though as Lewis drained back-to-back three-pointers to spark a 10-0 run in the final minute of play and pull the Owls within three, 55-52, with 12 seconds left. With Stetson going 1-for-2 at the free throw line on the ensuing possession, Lewis went down to for a quick layup to make it 56-54. Another free throw put the Hatters up by three before a last ditch three-pointer from Lewis fell short.
 
How it Happened: Jamie Lewis scored 10 points in the final minute of regulation to record his first 20+ point game … Ugo Obineke tied both of his season-highs for points (19) and rebounds (five) … Stetson went 9-of-10 from the floor in the final nine minutes of the game … KSU's eight three-pointers marked the third time in the last four games the Owls have netted five or more treys in a game … Stetson out-rebounded KSU 37-25.
 
Quotes: Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
On the team's fight late…
"They are learning to fight, they are learning to compete for 40 minutes. We are still trying to get them to a point where they trust for 40 minutes. We had probably a two- or three-minute spell in the first half where we kind of fell out of touch with trusting what we were trying to execute and then we had a two- or three-minute spell late in the second half where we did the same thing. Five or six minutes can determine a game. I was proud of how the fought at the end because in the past we had been kind of giving in, but we continued to fight regardless of what happened."
 
On Ugo Obineke's play…
"He is getting better every day. His practice habits are improving, and I think that's why he's seeing this success in the game. He is starting to be more aggressive within what we do, trusting what we do. So, he's going to have those nights where he comes out and has 19 points. We need him to probably rebound just a little bit better, but I was really proud of how he performed. I'm prouder of his practice habits that he has been improving on.
 
On the game's positive takeaways…
"When we execute our offense, we're pretty good. I thought we did pretty good job of it for about 34 minutes of the game, but again there were spells in there where we just kind of went away from it. I thought at that point, I think it was 11-6 or 11-7, I thought we probably could've built that lead to 10 points or so, but we kind of went away from what we were doing that got us the lead so we found ourselves back in a dogfight. I love the fight, love the competitiveness, I loved our practice the day after North Florida, I loved our preparation today and how they came to the gym. We are still working to get that to be an everyday thing. Championship teams, championship programs, which we'll be one day, that's what they do every single day."
 
Up Next: The Owls continue ASUN play on the road next Thursday (Jan. 9) at Lipscomb.