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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State played Florida even for the first eight minutes and the final 27 minutes but could not overcome a game-changing 17-2 run by the host Gators (2-0) as the Owls (1-1) dropped their first road contest of the season, 88-78 on Friday night in men's college basketball action from the Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. Foul trouble also severely limited KSU in the first half, but the Owls never stopped fighting, closing within single digits numerous times in the second half.
STAT OF THE GAME: KSU had no answer for the Gators' 5
th-year 6-11 forward Colin Castleton, as he scored a game-high 33 points on 12-of-18 shooting. He was also sent to the line 13 times and made nine. Overall Florida was awarded 33 free throw attempts, connecting on 24 of them, while KSU made 12 of its 18 attempts.
OWL OF THE GAME: Chris Youngblood posted 20+ points in back-to-back games for the first time in his career as he finished 8-of-13 from the floor and was 2-of-3 from three-point range.
THE FIRST HALF: It was a tight battle over the first eight minutes, as KSU answered every Florida basket. The Owls then used a Youngblood trey, and a steal and layup from
Alex Peterson to go up 12-8 with 13:55 to play in the opening half. Fouls though started to add up for the visitors, and Florida took advantage to score 17 of the game's next 19 points. The lead grew as high as 14 for the Gators, while two KSU starters went to the bench with three fouls and a third sat with two. However, Cottle, Quincy Ademokoya and Peterson all made big plays off the bench and helped close KSU with 10 at the break, 44-34.
THE SECOND HALF: Florida went back to Castleton to open the second stanza and push the edge to 14, but the Owls refused to go away. They stayed close, and with a 5-0 run from Youngblood thanks to a trey and a jumper, closed within 56-49 with under 14 minutes to play. The margin was still in single digits with under 10 minutes to go when the Gators burst out a 7-0 spurt to go up 16. The lead would grow as high as 17 before the Owls chipped it down to the final 10-point margin.
QUOTEABLE: "I was really proud of our guys. The one thing we really asked is that they would respond. We knew being in a SEC gym against a well-coached team, really talented team, they were going to make runs being in their home gym, and we wanted to respond every time they did and I felt we did for the most part. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot with fouls, but I thought each time they tried to make a run to put us away, we responded."-
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
- This was the first even meeting between the two schools. The Owls dropped to 0-11 all-time against schools from the SEC.
- Joining Youngblood in double-figures was
Terrell Burden with 14.
Demond Robinson just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Stoud posted eight points and 10 rebounds.
- The Owls bench outscored Florida 25-13, led by the freshman Cottle with eight points.
- After being held to 34% shooting in the first half, KSU bounced back to 53% in the second and finished at 43% for the game, though it trailed the Gators' 55% performance.
- The Owls were outrebounded 37-35, but did hold a 17-13 edge on points off turnovers after forcing 11 while committing just seven themselves.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back home for their next contest as they will take on Brewton-Parker on Monday, Nov. 14 in a 7 pm contest in the Convocation Center.
