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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The longest win streak for the Kennesaw State men's basketball program in four years came to an end Saturday afternoon at the hands of the Lipscomb Bisons, 77-73. Jamir Moultrie had his second-highest point total on the season and led the team with 20 points. The loss marks the first that KSU (8-9, 3-1 ASUN Conference) has been dealt in conference action this season.

STAT OF THE GAME: Lipscomb's (9-12, 2-4 ASUN) field goal percentage landed at 51% on the afternoon, the highest field goal percentage the Owls have allowed in ASUN play this season and the highest overall since a Dec. 21 loss to Nebraska.

OWL OF THE GAME: Jamir Moultrie led the Owls with 20 points on the night in 22 minutes on the floor, with none of those points coming in the first half. He was electric with the ball in his hands, going 5-for-9 from three, 100% from the free throw line and 50% shooting on the afternoon.  

FIRST HALF: The offense was on fire right out of the gate, with Chris Youngblood, Spencer Rodgers and Brandon Stroud draining three-pointers to give the Owls a 9-3 lead before the first three minutes were in the books. The Bison got back in the game, shooting 50 percent in the first half and edged KSU for a 38-35 lead after the first 20 minutes of play. Terrell Burden led the team with nine points with Stroud and Rodgers not far behind with eight points and two threes each.

SECOND HALF: Rodgers made a jumper to get KSU on the board to start the half but the Bisons followed that with an 8-0 run and did not trail at any point in the last 20 minutes. Moultrie caught fire and kept the Owls in the game, accounting for 20 of the 38 second half points. The next closest was Burden with five points. KSU was able to bring the game within three points with 24 seconds remaining but was unable to complete the comeback.

QUOTEABLE:
"It was a hard-fought game. Hats off to Coach Lennie Acuff and their team.
I thought the last eight minutes of the game we finally played with the type of energy and effort that had led to success for us.
Defensively we weren't ourselves today. We didn't execute the details of our defensive game plan the way we needed and gave up too many three-pointers and uncontested lay-ups in the first half.
"We have to learn from our mistakes, flush this one right away and move on with a short turnaround coming Monday against a good Jacksonville team." – head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim.

NOTES:
-Brandon Stroud recorded the second double-double of his career, notching 10 points and 11 rebounds.
-Jamir Moultrie made five three-pointers, his single-game best in a KSU uniform.
-The Owls extended Lipscomb's now six-game streak of allowing 10 or more three-pointers.
-This was the seventh consecutive game where three or more players tallied 10 points or more.
-Saturday's game marked the closest matchup in the KSU-Lipscomb series since the 2017 contest in Nashville where the Bisons won 82-79.

NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls return to the Convocation Center on Monday, Jan. 24 at 5:00 p.m. for a matchup with the Jacksonville Dolphins for the first of four home games in eight days. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can purchase tickets here.