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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State showed no signs of rust after a two-week layoff, as the Owls put together their best defensive performance of the season on the way to a 77-53 rout of FGCU Thursday night from the Convocation Center. The win was the first for KSU in its ASUN opener in six years, and tied for the second-largest win margin in conference history as the Owls moved to 6-8 overall, 1-0 in the ASUN. FGCU meanwhile dropped to 11-6, 1-2 in league play.
It was expected to be a high-scoring affair between the two teams, ranked second and third in the ASUN in scoring offense, but instead a defensive battle broke out in the first half, with the Owls holding a 27-20 halfitme advantage. The 20 points allowed was the lowest given up by KSU in the first half this season. The Owls then came out firing away in the second half, knocking down 60.6% of their shots on the way to a 50-point half and the home victory.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls came into the night ranked 11
th in the ASUN in both field goal defense and three-point field goal defense, but put on a smothering display on the defensive side against the Eagles. FGCU was held to just 28.1% shooting (16-of-57), and 22% (6-of-27) from three-point range. KSU meanwhile was 7-of-12 from the behind the arc (57.1%) and 31-of-63 for 49.2%.
OWL OF THE GAME: While it was a team-effort with eight players all scoring at least seven points, junior guard
Terrell Burden stood out thanks to a 15-point, eight-assist performance. He also added three assists and a block while finishing with just one turnover.
FIRST HALF: The Owls only trailed once in the game at 3-2, before going on a 13-3 run over an eight-minute stretch, thanks to forcing 12 straight misses from the floor for the Eagles along with three turnovers. FGCU rallied to close within five twice, the last at 23-18, before the Owls extended the lead to seven to end the opening stanza.
SECOND HALF: FGCU kept the deficit within single digits for the majority of the opening seven minutes, the last at 38-30 with 12:44 to go. KSU then exploded for 22 points over the next five minutes. Five different players scored during that stretch, with an
Alex Peterson alley-oop giving the home team a 58-37 advantage. The lead grew as high as 26 points with two minutes to go.
QUOTEABLE:
On the defensive play
"The biggest thing we've been trying to hit on since Christmas break has been our defense. When you play a top-30 strength of schedule like we did in the non-conference, the teams that we played, you can get discouraged at times. We spent a lot of time talking about where we need to be and play better, and we knew we had to coach better as well. When you have that connection, it shows on the court. For us to only have nine turnovers, that shows we were playing together as a team.
On the balanced scoring
"We put 77 points on the board tonight, and that's big when we don't have to rely on
Spencer Rodgers or
Chris Youngblood to do that heavy carrying. To have the balance that we did tonight that's what we are striving for."
– Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-Joining Burden in double-figures was Youngblood with 10 points in just 20 minutes of action, and Peterson with 10 points and a career-high 10 rebounds off the bench for his first career double-double.
-KSU narrowly lost the rebound battle 39-38, but did have more second chance points (12-11).
-While the Eagles were missing from outside, the Owls were taking advantage of their opportunities inside, finishing with a 42-20 edge on points in the paint.
-The 24-point win margin ties for the second-largest ASUN win in team history, along with a 78-54 victory over Jacksonville on Feb. 10, 2018 in Kennesaw. The record is a 36-point victory, 87-51 over Mercer on Feb. 23, 2007, also in Kennesaw.
-The 53 points scored by FGCU was the fewest scored by a KSU opponent since a 54-53 win at NJIT on Jan. 30, 2017.
-KSU finished with a 43-30 edge on the boards, and forced 21 turnovers from the Eagles.
-The Owls have now passed last year's win total with 15 games left in the conference regular season schedule.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls now take off for a two-game road swing to the Sunshine State. First up is Saturday's 4 p.m. contest at Stetson in Deland, followed by a Monday, 7 p.m. contest at North Florida in Jacksonville.
