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KENNESAW, Ga. – Four starters finished in double-figures and Demond Robinson tied his career-high with 16 points as Kennesaw State out-toughed Jacksonville 76-68 in a matchup of two of the top defensive teams in the ASUN Monday night from the Convocation Center. The Owls are now just a half-game out of first place in the East division with a 4-1 conference mark and moved back to .500 at 9-9 with their fourth straight home victory.  
 
STAT OF THE GAME #1: The Owls did a great job of taking care of the ball, committing a season-low four turnovers. That helped give KSU a 12-4 edge on points off turnovers, as JU (11-7, 3-3) was forced into nine for the night. KSU came into the game leading the league in turnover margin at +7.0 in ASUN play.
 
STAT OF THE GAME #2: Eight days ago the Dolphins had the nation's top scoring defense, allowing just 54.5 points per game, leading to expectations that Monday's game would be a defensive battle. The Owls had other ideas however, connecting on 57% (16-of-28) of their shots from the floor in the first half, including 6-of-12 from the three-point range, on the way to 43 points by halftime.
 
OWL OF THE GAME: Robinson downed the Owls' first shot of the day, which was also the first three-pointer of his career. It was that kind of night for the junior, a transfer from Murray State, who scored his personal best as an Owl with 16 points off 7-of-9 shooting. He was also key in the Owls' defensive effort inside the paint and in helping to keep the JU post players off the boards.
 
FIRST HALF: The Dolphins defense was on display at the start, forcing KSU into four straight misses while building a 7-0 edge. Robinson's trey broke the drought, igniting a 12-4 run for the Owls. JU came back with a trey from Kevion Nolan for a 14-12 edge with 12:04 to play. That would be the final lead of the night for the visitors. A Spencer Rodgers three-pointer started a 7-0 run, part of an eventual 23-8 run that gave KSU its largest lead of the game, 35-22 off a pair of Jamir Moultrie free throws with 4:27 to play. The Dolphins then scored 13 of the next 18 points of the game to close within five, before Isaiah Reddish buried a trey from the corner to close out the half for a 43-35 advantage for the Owls.
 
SECOND HALF: KSU led the entire second half, extending the lead to 12 on a Kasen Jennings three-pointer for a 53-41 edge at the 14:09 mark. The Dolphins would not go away easily however, staying within single digits for the majority of the final 20 minutes. Only once did the deficit close within a one-possession game however, as a 5-0 run, capped by a three-pointer made the score 67-64 with 3:03 to play. Terrell Burden answered on the other end with a driving lay-up, and after JU went 1-of-2 at the line, Burden scored the next four points of the game, while Rodgers added three free throws to seal the game.
 
QUOTEABLE:
"The game Saturday (a loss at Lipscomb) had its ebbs and flows, and we kind of came up on the wrong side of it. To come back tonight, a man short, against a really tough and physical good defensive team like JU, to put 76 points on the board and pull out the victory the way we did was a great night for us. To claw back from a 7-0 deficit, to hold on when they cut it to three late in the game. And then for us to push the lead back up, I think that shows our growth over the last year. A year ago we probably panic and lose that game." 
– Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim      
 
NOTES
-The win snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Dolphins and was the first by KSU Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim over JU. The last victory was a 78-54 win in Kennesaw on Feb. 10, 2018.
-Joining Robinson in double-figure scoring was Burden with 14, Moultrie with 13, Rodgers with 11 and Reddish with 10 off the bench.
-The Owls finished the game shooting 54.7% (29-of-53) from the field, 8-of-21 (38.1%) from three-point range, but did struggle at the line, hitting 10-of-18 for 55.6%.
-Brandon Stroud grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds in the win, his second straight double-figure rebounding effort.
 
NEXT TIME OUT: KSU takes on West division leader Jacksonville State in a key ASUN matchup Thursday at 7:30 pm in the Convocation Center. It's Gold Rush night, with the first 1,000 fans at the men's game receiving free KSU Gold Rush T-shirts. It is the second game of a double-header, as the Owl women will host JSU at 5 pm.