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Score: Kennesaw State 106, Toccoa Falls 44
Records: Kennesaw State (2-0, 0-0), Toccoa Falls (0-5, 0-0)
Key Players: Spencer Rodgers (21 pts, 6-for-7 from three-point range), Chris Youngblood (15 pts, 2 rebs, 2 asts), Brandon Stroud (10 pts, 4 rebs, 2 asts), Kasen Jennings (10 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts), Antonio Spencer (8 pts, 5 rebs) and Terrell Burden (8 asts, 3 pts).
 
THE STORYLINE:
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team set Division I program records for points (106), three-pointers (18), assists (28) and scoring margin (62) in a dominant 106-44 victory over Toccoa Falls Saturday evening. The win marks the first time since 2010-11 that KSU has started the year 2-0.
 
ABDUR-RAHIM QUOTES:
On Spencer Rodger's three-point showing...
"He has shown that in practice, but if you walk in the gym, for sure once in the morning and for sure once in the evening, you'll find Spencer in here working on his shot. He's a pro's pro, he's a guy that gets in here and works on his craft. And the thing I love about him is that he always brings a teammate with him he doesn't come and shoot on his own and that's something that's really important to our team in building our connectivity. He's shown it and we watch it some days in practice. [Director of Operations Griffin McHone] said it in the first half, he said 'he hasn't touched the rim yet.' He's a really good player, but a better leader."

On the team's defensive play...
"We're still a young team and we still have holes in it. I don't want to sound like a regular coach and say oh we can be better, but we said from day one that that end of the court was where our identity was going to be and we want to be really good on that end of the court. Now will we be able to hold people to 40 every night? No, but if we're doing a good job of contesting shots, jumping to the ball and communicating in the right way then I think we can be really good defensively and continue to get better as the year goes on. I was really proud of our effort and again we had a couple holes here and there, but the overall effort and connectivity on that end was really good."

HOW IT HAPPENED: 
The Owls made it rain in the opening half, sinking 13 of their 18 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes starting with Jamie Lewis' trey just 15 seconds in. Four of KSU's first five buckets were from beyond the arc as the Owls jumped out to a 14-5 lead at the 16:55 mark. KSU pushed its lead to 20 points behind a 12-0 run capped off by a three-pointer form Spencer Rodgers to make it 36-12 with 7:31 still to go. Rodgers sank three more treys in the final minutes, finishing the period 5-for-5 from range with 16 points.
 
As a team, the Owls were 13-for-20 from three-point range in the first half to take a 53-22 lead over the Screaming Eagles at halftime.
 
Toccoa Falls cut the lead to less than 30 with a quick 5-0 run in the opening minutes of the second half, but another Rodgers three-pointer sparked a 12-0 run to push the Owls lead up to 67-27. KSU continued to keep the pressure on pushing its lead to 50 following another 12-0 run capped off by a triple from Chris Youngblood to make it 84-31 with 10:30 left in the game.
 
KSU's outside shooting production fell in the second half, going 5-of-14 from range, but the Owls made up for it by dominating the paint, outscoring the Screaming Eagles 32-8 underneath the rim. The Owls out-rebounded Toccoa Falls 23-7 in the second half with big men Antonio Spencer (8), Armani Harris (6) and Alex Peterson (4) netting all of their points on the night in the final period.
 
The Owls finally broke the century mark as freshman Kenny Burns drained a three-pointer followed by Kasen Jennings swiping the ball on the ensuing possession to feed Spencer for a thunderous dunk that put KSU up 101-41 with five minutes still to go. Burns' trey set the KSU DI record for three-pointers as he would go on to net one more before the final buzzer.

NOTES
- KSU set Division I single-game records for three-pointers made (18), total points (106), winning margin (62) and assists (28) while tying the record for made field goals (40).
- KSU's 106 points marks just the fourth time in DI history the Owls have hit the century mark. All three previous times coming during the 2015-16 season.
- Six Owls made at least two three-pointers.
- Spencer Rodgers finished 6-for-7 from three-point range, 7-for-8 from the floor, putting him one trey short of tying the DI single-game record
- Four Owls netted at least 10 points, led by Spencer Rodgers' 21 followed by Chris Youngblood (15), Kasen Jennings (10) and Brandon Stroud (10).
- Terrell Burden led the way with a career-high eight assists, followed by Kasen Jennings with six.  
- The Owls out-rebounded Toccoa Falls 45-18, the first +20 rebound margin since facing Southeastern in December of 2018.
- All 13 players that touched the floor scored at least 13 points as KSU's bench combined for 56 points.
-  The Owls forced 23 turnovers resulting in 35 points.

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

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