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Score: Kennesaw State 61, Stetson 74
Records: Kennesaw State (3-16, 0-11), Stetson (8-10, 5-6)
Key Players: Spencer Rodgers (17 pts, 3 assts), Terrell Burden (13 pts, 3 assts, 2 stls), Chris Youngblood (7 pts, 2 assts), Armani Harris (8 pts, 6 rebs, 3-3 FG) and Alex Peterson (8 pts, 6 rebs).
 
THE STORYLINE 
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team battled the visiting Hatters Friday evening to open their final homestand of the year, but after cutting it close Stetson pulled away late in the second half to down the Owls 74-61.

ABDUR-RAHIM QUOTES
On tonight's game…
"I thought we had our chances to take control of the game. They do a good job of playing that zone for 40 minutes and it's something that keeps you off balance, but I thought at times on the defensive end of the court we didn't play as hard as we normally play. We didn't play to our principles. It's one of those things where you get three guys in Rob Perry, Christiaan Jones and Chase Johnston and they get 50 points out of 71 and it's their three best players so we have to do a better job on the defensive end. That's been our identity all year, it's what we want the identity of our program to be so we have to have guys play up. I probably need to do a little bit better of a job mixing it up and doing some different things, but at the end of the day, if I'm speaking from a player's point of view, we need our guys' competitiveness, consistency and the toughness that they play with in practice. We can't let the lights come on and then play back on our heels. We'll bounce back tomorrow and be ready to go."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
KSU won the tip to open the night as a jumper from Chris Youngblood and a triple by Spencer Rodgers had the Owls up 5-3 early. The two squads traded points before a 7-0 run, capped off by a dunk from Alex Peterson, gave KSU a 14-11 lead at the 14:08 mark. Four straight points from Terrell Burden gave the Owls their largest lead of the night, 18-13, until Stetson answered with a 12-0 run to take a 25-18 lead.

KSU kept fighting as another dunk from Peterson and a three-pointer by Rodgers made it a one-score game, 27-25, with 5:57 left in the half. After another 6-0 run by Stetson, the Owls attempted to cut the lead heading into halftime as Rodgers drained the third of his five triples to pull back within two, 33-31.

Stetson sank one more bucket before the buzzer sounded, finishing the first half shooting 50 percent from the field.

The Owls came out shooting to open the second period as a 7-2 swing, capped off by a three-pointer by Rodgers, brought it to 39-38. Both teams proceeded to trade points as KSU attempted to retake the lead, but Stetson had an answer for each shot to maintain a slim 46-45 lead at the 13:20 mark.

Stetson managed to keep the Owls at arm's length throughout most of the period as the teams went back-and-forth until an 11-2 run by the Hatters built a 70-57 lead with 2:21 left in the game. Burden netted four points for the Owls in the final minutes, but it was not enough to spark a late comeback as Stetson held on for the win.

NOTES:
- Spencer Rodgers finished 5-for-9 from three-point range for 17 points, his seventh game this season with four or more treys.
- Terrell Burden netted double-figures for the second straight game, fourth of the season.
- The Owls committed a season-low seven turnovers.
- Armani Harris has made his last eight straight shots dating back to the end of game one against Bellarmine (Jan. 29), finishing tonight's game 3-for-3 from the floor.
- Stetson out-rebounded KSU 37-23, a season-low for the Owls.

UP NEXT:
The Owls turn around for their final home game of the 2020-21 campaign, hosting Stetson for game two Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State men's basketball news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUOwlsMBB or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.