Follow KSU Men's Basketball on Social - Twitter | Instagram
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State used a huge run to open the second half and a clutch jumper from
Chris Youngblood in the final 32 seconds to hold off North Florida and improve to 3-0 in conference play for the first time in school history with Monday night's 62-60 victory. The Owls missed two chances to seal the victory at the line, but came up with a game-clinching steal with under two seconds left to earn their second straight ASUN road victory, the first time Kennesaw State has won two consecutive league games on the road in 11 years. With their fourth straight overall victory, this is the first time the Owls have ever had at least a .500 record in the month of January at 8-8 overall.
STAT OF THE GAME #1: One game after holding Stetson to just 12% in the second half, the Owls nearly duplicated that defensive effort. The Ospreys were forced into a paltry 16.7% shooting from the floor in the second stanza (5-of-30) including 4-of-20 from three-point range. The only thing keeping the home team in the game was their 12-of-18 performance at the line. Overall UNF finished 17-of-60 for 28.3%, the fourth straight KSU opponent held to 33.3% shooting or below.
OWL OF THE GAME: Isaiah Reddish had his career game as an Owl Monday, coming off the bench with his first career double-digit performance for KSU with 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting. He hit a pair of key three-pointers while also tying for the team lead in rebounds with seven.
FIRST HALF: It was a half of runs by both teams, with KSU opening up a 9-4 edge. The Ospreys answered with a 9-0 run of their own to go up 13-9, all from the three-point range. Shots from long range were the story of the opening half, with the Owls hitting just 1-of-6 from behind the arc. UNF meanwhile drained six of its attempts from downtown, including one with 20 seconds left in the half for a five-point edge, and after a pair of
Terrell Burden free throws, Jarius Hicklen sank a desperation three at the buzzer to put UNF up 34-28 at the halftime.
SECOND HALF: As has become the expected for the Owls in conference play, they exploded out of the break, with a 17-4 run over the first six minutes. It was a team effort during that spurt, with
Demond Robinson starting things off with a steal and dunk just 20 seconds in, while
Spencer Rodgers followed with a trey and Youngblood a jumper for a 35-34 KSU edge. The Ospreys countered with four of the next six to go up 38-37 with 15:37 to play. That would be their final lead however, with back-to-back treys from Reddish and Youngblood giving the Owls a 45-38 lead.
KSU led by as much as eight, 55-47, but foul trouble caught up to the Owls. UNF meanwhile hit three treys over a four-minute stretch, the third at 2:03 to tie the game at 59-59. Youngblood put KSU back up with his layup, and after the Ospreys went 1-of-2 at the line with eight seconds left, the Owls were sent back to the line. They missed both, but following a UNF timeout to set up a final shot, Rodgers stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory.
QUOTEABLE:
"Really proud of our team tonight. To go on the road, to play three games in five days, to gut that win out the way we did really shows our belief in each other. It showed out toughness and our grit and that we're growing up a little bit.
"Really proud of Demond tonight, he came out and gave us a presence in the post, while Chris to have a second half that he did after being in foul trouble in the first was also key.
"The thing that I want to point out more than anything, if you look at our shooting numbers tonight, it shows that our identify is truly on the defensive end. To hold a team to 60% on its home court, 28% shooting for the game, 27 percent for three, it's a testament to who we want to be and that we can win playing different ways."
– Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-This was the first win for the Owls at North Florida in 14 years, a 63-54 victory on Feb. 21, 2008, and snapped a five-game losing streak to the Ospreys.
-The Owls have outscored their three ASUN opponents in the second half by a 123-77 margin, including 34-26 Monday night.
-Youngblood led the Owls in scoring with 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He was joined in double-figures by Robinson with 12 and Reddish. Robinson also added seven rebounds and a season-high four blocks.
-KSU finished 23-of-62 for 37.1% from the floor, 5-of-17 from three-point range (29.4%). The Owls struggled at the line however, hitting just 11-of-20 for 55%.
-The Owls lost the rebound battle 51-41 and were outrebounded 23-18 on the offensive side but still held a 16-14 edge on second chance points.
NEXT TIME OUT: KSU begins another three-games in five days stretch on Thursday when it hosts Liberty in an East division showdown at 7 pm on the Convocation Center. It's Youth Sports Night as well, with all kids 12 and under wearing a jersey from their sports team receiving free admission.
