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Score: Kennesaw State 53, Belmont 64
Records: Kennesaw State (3-3, 0-0), Belmont (6-1, 0-0)
Key Players: Spencer Rodgers (20 pts, 7 rebs, 2 stls), Chris Youngblood (10 pts, 6 rebs), Brandon Stroud (6 pts, 8 rebs) and Alex Peterson (4 pts, 5 rebs).

THE STORYLINE
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team found itself in a battle late against the Bruins Wednesday night, but could not break through despite 20 points from Spencer Rodgers as Belmont answered a late KSU run to hold on and down the Owls 64-53.

ABDUR-RAHIM QUOTES
On his thoughts about the game...
"I want to start by giving a ton of respect to Coach Alexander and his Belmont program. They did a great job of competing start to finish. It;s a reason why they've been able to sustain success ata a high level for so many years. I was proud of the way we competed tonight. We've talked to our guys about building a resiliency in our DNA to fight through adversity and tonight I thought we found out we have some resiliency in us."

On turnovers...
"Offensively, we're hurting ourselves in the first halves of games with turnovers. Tonight we had 11 in the first half that led to 13 points. We did a much better job of in the second half only turning it over three times. We have to improve in that area in order to take the next step."

On KSU's defensive play...
"Defensively we were very good. To hold Belmont to 64 points on their home floor when they average 83 points per game is a great example for our team to see who we can become on the defensive end of the floor." 
 
BELMONT HEAD COACH CASEY ALEXANDER QUOTE
On KSU's play…
"Amir Abdur-Rahim does a really good job coaching them, they believe in what they are doing and have a really bright future. Their program will be where they hired him to take it sooner than later."

HOW IT HAPPENED 
It was a slow start for both squads as a three-pointer from Chris Youngblood put the Owls on top 3-2 in the opening minutes. Belmont responded with a quick 7-0 run before back-to-back buckets from Youngblood and Terrell Burden made it 9-7 at the 13:29 mark.
 
The Bruins then proceeded to go on a 17-2 run as the Owls went cold from the floor to push the lead to 26-9 with seven minutes still to play. KSU finally snapped the drought with a pair of three-pointers from Jamie Lewis and Youngblood followed by a bucket from Spencer Rodgers to pull the Owls within 10, 26-17. Undeterred, the Bruins closed out the half on an 8-0 run before a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Rodgers sent the teams into the locker room with KSU trailing 34-20.
 
After trading buckets to open the second half, Rodgers went on to net back-to-back three-pointers for a quick 8-2 run to pull KSU back within 10, 43-34 at the 14:43 mark. The Owls and Bruins proceeded to trade buckets over the next few minutes as KSU could not seem to break the double-digit barrier.
 
The Owls finally managed to put Belmont on its heels with a 7-0 run, thanks to five straight points from Rodgers, to make it 53-47 with four minutes still to play. Rodgers recorded 15 of his 20 points in the second half. The Bruins responded with a quick 7-0 run of their own to regain a double-digit lead, draining their free throws down the stretch to hold on for a 64-53 win.

NOTES
- Spencer Rodgers scored 10 or more points for the sixth straight game, 20+ in two straight.
- Chris Youngblood finished with 10 or more points for the third straight game.
- Rodgers has pulled down five or more rebounds in three straight games now.
- The Owls sank seven three-pointers, marking the third straight game, fifth of the season, with at least five three-pointers.
- Wednesday's game marked the fourth time this season KSU has held its opponent to less than 70 points.

UP NEXT
The Owls return to the Convocation Center to open a four-game homestand Saturday afternoon against Samford at 4:30 p.m. ET.