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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Kennesaw State men's basketball team started off hot from range Saturday night against Jacksonville, but couldn't keep its hot hand, falling to the Dolphins 69-55 to close out the final road trip of the season.

Tyler Hooker led the team in scoring with 20 points, recording his fifth game this year with 20 or more points.

How it Happened: Jacksonville (13-16, 6-8) started off on a tear, jumping out to a 7-0 lead, but back-to-back three-pointers from Adili Kuerban and C.J. Washington pulled the Owls (1-26, 0-14) back within one, 7-6, at the 15:28 mark. Tyler Hooker kept the hot-shooting going with two straight treys of his own to keep the Owls on the Dolphins heels, 16-12.

Following the Owls' fifth three-pointer in the opening 10 minutes, courtesy of Kuerban, Jacksonville earned some breathing room with a 9-0 run to extend its lead to 30-17 with six minutes left to play. The two squads traded buckets the rest of the period as a layup from Hooker just before the buzzer sent KSU into the locker room trailing 37-23 at the half.

Kuerban and Hooker each finished the half with eight points.

After going back-and-forth to open the second half, JU hit back-to-back three-pointers to push its lead to 45-25 three minutes in. The two teams then exchanged trips to the free throw line for the next few minutes before Ugo Obineke finally broke the drought for KSU with a shot from beyond the arc followed by three points the hard way from Hooker for a quick 6-0 swing to bring it to 55-38 with just over eight minutes to play.

The Owls did their best to cut into the lead, but JU was able to answer each time to keep the lead. KSU kicked it into gear in the final two minutes, outscoring the Dolphins 11-2 down the stretch, nine points alone from Washington, to earn the final score of 69-55.

Notes: Tyler Hooker led all scorers with 20 points … C.J. Washington tied his career-high with 14 points … Bryson Lockley led the Owls with six rebounds while adding eight points … KSU's seven three-pointers marked the fifth time this year the Owls netted seven or more treys … KSU finished 7-of-25 from three point range after opening the game 5-of-8 … Antonio Spencer recorded two blocks, his fourth multi-block game of the year.

Quotes: Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
On the Owls' play…
"Really proud of our guys' effort and fight throughout the game. We let a slow start and a three-minute stretch in the first half where we didn't compete defensively and where we took quick bad shots hurt our momentum. Jacksonville did a good job of making us pay for our mistakes. Overall really proud of our fight. Bryson Lockley playing 40 minutes like a warrior is something I'll always remember and never take for granted. What he did tonight won't show up in the stats, but he fought for us."

Up Next: The Owls return to the nest for their final two games of the season, hosting Liberty next Thursday (Feb. 27) followed by NJIT for senior night Saturday (Feb. 29).