Saturday, November 28
4 p.m. ET  – Kennesaw State (1-0, 0-0) vs Toccoa Falls (0-5, 0-0)
Links: ESPN+ | Live Stats
Location: Convocation Center | Kennesaw, Ga.
Game Notes: KSU
Tickets | COVID Gameday Procedures

TOP STORYLINES
» The Kennesaw State men's basketball team looks to build off its 87-40 win over Carver College in Wednesday's season-opener, closing out the week against Toccoa Falls Saturday at 4 p.m. With a win over the Screaming Eagles, KSU would start the season 2-0 for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.

» The Owls dominated their season-opener against Carver College Wednesday, setting Division I single-game records for winning margin (47) and fewest points allowed (40). KSU finished the game shooting 52.3 percent from the floor, the first time the Owls have shot 50 percent or better since playing Southeastern in December of 2018.

» The Owls' top three shooters were all making their debut in the Black and Gold Wednesday. Freshmen Chris Youngblood and Kasen Jennings netted 17 and 11 points respectively while junior transfer Spencer Rodgers recorded 13 points. The trio combined to record eight of KSU's nine made three-pointers, finishing 8-of-17 from beyond the arc.

» Freshman Chris Youngblood showed why he was one of the most highly touted recruits to come to KSU against Carver. He led the team with 17 points, netting three straight three-pointers just a minute and half after stepping onto the court for the first time. Youngblood finished 5-of-9 from range, two treys shy of tying KSU's single-game record. He also added one rebound, one assist and one block in his 15 minutes of action.

» Terrell Burden and Armani Harris came back with a vengeance after missing the majority of their freshmen years due to a pair of season-ending injuries. Burden netted nine points, finishing 4-for-5 from the floor, while leading the team with four assists and adding four rebounds and one steal. Harris flirted with a double-double recording seven points and seven rebounds, going 3-for-4 on the day. 

» KSU out-rebounded Carver 50-38 Wednesday evening as all but two Owls pulled down at least one board, nine with four or more. The Owls 50 rebounds marked just the second time in the last three seasons KSU has recorded 50 or more rebounds. That mark was also just five boards shy of the DI single-game record. Junior transfer Alex Peterson led the Owls with nine rebounds, falling just shy of recording a double-double in his debut adding eight points to his nine boards. 

BRING YOUR UMBRELLAS
The Owls made it rain in the Convocation Center Wednesday evening, shooting 52.3 percent from the floor for an 87-40 victory. KSU's 87 points marked the most points scored by the Owls since netting 90 points against Southeastern on Dec. 20, 2018.

The Southeastern game was also the last time KSU finished a game shooting 50 percent or better, a feat only accomplished twice since the end of the 2017-18 season. Seven Owls finished the game shooting 50 percent or better, four shooting 70 percent or better.

Six Owls netted seven or more points as newcomers Chris Youngblood (17), Spencer Rodgers (13) and Kasen Jennings (11) hit double-figures. The trio combined for eight of KSU's nine three-pointers as the Owls shot 31 percent from beyond the arc.

The win broke a pair of longstanding single-game records at KSU with Carver's 40 points scored marking the fewest points allowed in DI history since holding Florida A&M to 41 points in December of 2015. The Owls' 47-point win margin trumped a record that stood for seven years when KSU defeated Warren Wilson by 44 points in November of 2013.

WHAT'S GOOD YOUNG BLOOD?
Freshman Chris Youngblood made a major impact in his debut almost instantly, draining three straight three-pointers in just over a minute and a half after hitting the floor for the first time.

He led the team with 17 points in just 15 minutes of action Wednesday. Youngblood ranks fifth in the ASUN for scoring following the league's season-openers, making him one of two freshmen to rank among the top-15 in the league.

The Sharpsburg, Ga., native finished 5-for-9 from three-point range, just two shy of tying the KSU Division I single-game record. To put it in even more perspective, no player made more than four three-pointers in all of the 2019-20 season.

Youngblood finished the game 6-for-10 from the floor, adding one rebound, one assist and one block.

RETURN OF THE MACKS
Wednesday's season-opener marked the return of breakout players Terrell Burden and Armani Harris after suffering season-ending injuries in 2019-20, and the duo did not miss a beat.

Earning the start, Burden finished with nine points, going 4-for-5 on the day, while leading the team with four assists. The Smyrna, Ga., native also added four rebounds and a steal to his stat line. Harris nearly netted a double-double in his first game back in almost a year. He finished with seven points and seven rebounds, the second most on the team.

Both Burden (14) and Harris (8) appeared in less than 15 games their freshmen seasons but remained some of the top Owls in multiple categories.

Burden made his debut in KSU's season-opener at Creighton, seeing action in 13 of the next 14 games, including nine starts, before being sidelined against Stetson. The Smyrna, Ga., native was one of the Owl's top scorers, averaging 9.5 points per game while netting double-digits seven times. He was the Owls' leading scorer in five games, including a career-high 21-point performance against Wofford.

Despite playing in half the games, Burden still finished last season ranked third on the team for total assists, dishing out 30 dimes. Burden logged a career-high seven assists against Iona.

Harris saw his freshman season cut short after just eight games, appearing in all eight games to open the 2019-20 slate. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native earned starts in his final three games against Elon, UNCG and FIU before suffering his season-ending injury.

In that short span, Harris was a force in the paint averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. He recorded seven or more boards in five of his eight games, including a season-high 15 against FIU. Harris also averaged 7.1 points per game, hitting double-figures in three games. He recorded his first career double-double in his final appearance against FIU, netting 10 points and 15 rebounds.

Harris also finished the year with 12 assists, six steals and three blocks. 

BOOGIE BOARDING
Junior transfer Alex "Boogie" Peterson ran the paint Wednesday evening, leading the Owls with nine rebounds. The Tappahannock, Va., native earned the start in his first appearance for KSU, nearly finishing with a double-double recording eight points and nine boards.

With the majority of the ASUN playing their season-openers on Wednesday, Peterson is currently tied for second in the league for rebounds. He is one of 11 players, including KSU's Armani Harris, to pull down over five rebounds. Peterson and Harris are also two of three players to rank among the top-15 in the conference while playing less than 20 minutes. 

NEW YEAR, NEW TEAM
It will be a revamped Owl squad hitting the floor in 2020-21 as KSU returns only five players from last season, with only one seeing action in at least 20 games a year ago. KSU welcomes 10 newcomers to the Nest this year, seven freshmen and three transfers.

Only redshirt junior Antonio Spencer and redshirt sophomore Jamie Lewis appeared in more than 15 games last season. Spencer saw action in 23 games, earning 18 starts. He was one of two Owls to finish the year with over 100 total rebounds (107), averaging 4.7 per game. The Dallas, Texas native led the team and ranked eighth in the ASUN with 19 blocked shots.

Lewis is one of KSU's top returning scorers, averaging 8.3 points per game while leading the team in three-point shooting. After becoming eligible midway through the season, Lewis finished the season shooting 34.1 percent from range.

The Owls are one of 19 teams in the country that has to replace over 70 percent of its scoring from 2019-20, losing 73.3 percent from last season.

YOUNG AND HUNGRY
This year's freshmen class is one of the most highly touted in recent years, currently ranked 61st in the country according to 247Sports.com. The class includes some of the top recruits out of Georgia, Alabama and Kansas.

Highlighting the freshmen class is the Georgia trio of Chris Youngblood, Brandon Stroud and Kasen Jennings. Three of the top-25 recruits out of the Peach State, Youngblood and Stroud were teammates at East Coweta HS, leading the Indians to a combined 43-14 record over the last two seasons. Youngblood and Stroud were East Coweta's leading scorers in 2019-20, averaging 20.2 and 15.9 points per game, respectively.  

Kasen Jennings helped lead Langston Hughes HS to a 21-9 record in 2019-20, including a Final Four berth in the GHSA 6A State Tournament. Jennings averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game this past year.

Joining the trio are Cole LaRue and Mayson Quartlebaum.

The 14th-ranked recruit out of Alabama, LaRue helped McGill-Toolen go 22-9 in 2019-20, 48-15 over the last two years.

Quartlebaum comes to KSU all the way from Lawrence, Kan., playing his prep career at Lawrence HS. The eighth-ranked recruit out of Kansas, he helped the Lions go 38-9 overall over the past two seasons. No stranger to college hoops, Quartlebaum's father has been a coach for over 20 years, joining the Kansas coaching staff in 2013.

Rounding out the 2019-20 freshmen class are walk-ons Kenny Burns and Demetrius Rives.

Burns split his prep career between powerhouse Wheeler HS before playing this past season at The Skills Factory. Rives comes out of Tri-Cities HS, helping to lead the Bulldogs to a 2019 GHSA 6A State Championship and a berth in the 2020 Final Four, earning First Team All-Region honors.  

A TRANSFER OF POWER
The Owls have three incoming transfers this year looking to make an immediate impact in Alex Peterson, Spencer Rodgers and Nate Springs.

Coming from Missouri State University - West Plains, Peterson was one of the Grizzlies top performers this past season. He led the team averaging 6.8 rebounds per game while ranked second in scoring with a 14.3 points per game average. Peterson tallied 30 blocks on the year, adding 34 assists and 21 steals.

Making 62 appearances for MSUWP in his two seasons, Peterson finished his JUCO career with 364 total rebounds, 54 blocks and 683 points. Originally from Tappahannock, Va., he recorded a double-double in his career debut, logging eight total throughout his two seasons.

KSU's tallest transfer, standing at 6-10, Springs joins the Owls after spending his first two seasons at Ohio University. Redshirting during his freshman season, Springs made his debut against Capitol during the 2019-20 season recording seven points and four rebounds in 16 minutes of play.

Appearing in 21 games, Springs averaged 8.5 minutes and three points per game. He pulled down 28 rebounds while shooting 40 percent from three-point range with 16 made treys.

The Owls' final transfer, Rodgers, comes to KSU after stops at Troy his freshman season and Southwest Mississippi CC last season.

Rodgers appeared in 22 games for the Trojans, averaging 3.1 points per game while tallying 11 assists and eight steals. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native broke out last season averaging 12.8 points per game with 46 assists and 38 steals. He led the Bears with 60 made three-pointers, finishing the year shooting 40.2 percent form the floor and 34.7 percent from range. 

UP NEXT
The Owls hit the road for their first Division I test of the season, squaring off against UAB Wednesday (Dec. 2) at 7:30 p.m. ET.

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