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

Score: Kennesaw State 71, Mercer 81
Records: Kennesaw State (3-5, 0-0), Mercer (7-1, 0-0)
Key Players: Spencer Rodgers (20 pts, 4 rebs), Terrell Burden (17 pts, 3 rebs, 2 assts), Chris Youngblood (10 pts, 3 rebs), Brandon Stroud (6 pts, 8 rebs, 3 assts, 2 stls) and Cole LaRue (6pts, 4 rebs, 2 blks).
 
THE STORYLINE
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team pushed in-state foe Mercer to the brink in its final non-conference game of the season, but the Bears utilized a late run to gain the edge, holding on for an 81-71 win Tuesday afternoon. Three Owls finished in double-figures led by Spencer Rodgers with 20 points, his fourth game this year with 20 or more points, followed by a season-high 17 points from Terrell Burden.

ABDUR-RAHIM QUOTES
On his thoughts about the game…
"I think Coach Gary and that staff do a really good job. Older teams they always present a different problem for you … those dudes they are battle tested, they're tough and coach has been through wars in his days at Purdue, so you have all the ingredients for a really good team so hats off to them. On the flipside of that, the experience that they have and then you look at our team and its youth. I thought for about 37 and a half minutes today we played some really good basketball and for about two and a half minutes there in the second half, we showed our youth. We get a flagrant-1 foul which is stupid, no need to do it, and then being on the other end of the court, we're not communicating enough defensively. You hold a team to 31 points in the first half and then you give up 50 in the second half, all that is is a lack of communication. When you're older, that's second nature to you … I'm proud of our team because we are getting better. I thought we did a much better job on the defensive glass today, I thought we did a god job on the offensive glass. I thought we did a better job in the first half of executing, in the second half we had some dead possessions, but that's part of it. Nevertheless to end non-conference at 3-5 and to have the competitive nature that we do, although I would like to win, but to have the competitive nature that we do I know we're moving in the right direction. We just have to learn from these mistakes and in a sense the non-conference did exactly what we needed it to do. It showed us where we had holes so that we could improve going into conference."

HOW IT HAPPENED 
After back-to-back buckets from the Bears to open the game, KSU responded with an 8-0 run to pull in front. The two teams traded buckets until an 8-0 run, capped off by a jumper from Jamie Lewis, gave the Owls a 16-9 lead with just over 12 minutes still to play. Mercer eventually tied the game at 20 following a 7-0 run before a triple from Spencer Rodgers finally halted the Bears' run.
 
KSU pushed its lead to nine, 34-25, following another three-pointer from Rodgers to cap off an 11-2 run at the 3:48 mark. After trading points, Terrell Burden ended the half with a bang driving the lane for a final second layup to send the Owls into the locker room leading 38-31. Burden recorded 14 of his 17 points in the first quarter while the Owl defense held Mercer to 1-of-8 from three-point range in the period.
 
The Bears came out ready to go in the second half, going on a 12-0 run in the opening minutes to retake the lead 45-42. Both squads battled over the next few minutes trading the lead with four ties and five lead changes in the second half. Mercer eventually seized control as a three-pointer from the Bears' Ross Cummings opened an 8-0 run to give Mercer a 63-55 lead at the six-minute mark.
 
The Owls closed the gap to four, 65-61, with back-to-back buckets from Rodgers and Youngblood, but another trey from the Bears kept the KSU comeback at bay. After Mercer pushed its lead to double-digits, a quick 6-0 run pulled the Owls right back into it trailing 73-68 with just over a minute to play. The Bears put the comeback attempt to bed though, scoring eight of the final 11 points to hold on for an 81-71 victory.

NOTES
- Terrell Burden recorded his first double-digit game of the season, finishing 8-of-10 from the free throw line
- Chris Youngblood logged his fifth straight game in double-figures, seventh of the season.
- Spencer Rodgers has hit double-figures in every game so far this year, netting 20+ points in three of the last four games.
- Brandon Stroud recorded his third straight game with eight or more rebounds finishing with a team-high eight.
- The Owls held Mercer, who came into the game averaging 10 three-pointers per game, to five treys, 1-of-8 in the first half.
- KSU made a season-high 18 free throws
- Cole LaRue recorded two blocks to bring his season total to eight.

UP NEXT
The Owls open ASUN play hosting Jacksonville in back-to-back games starting Friday, Jan. 1 at 6 p.m. ET.