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BOONE, N.C. – Kennesaw State used two big first half runs to claim a 12-point halftime advantage, and then held off a Southeast Louisiana rally over the final minutes for a 72-68 victory in men's college basketball action from the Holmes Center in game one of the Appalachian State MTE. The win moved the Owls to 3-1 for the season, its best-ever start in the school's Division I history, while SLU dropped to 2-2 for the year.
THE KEY PLAY: A 7-0 run had cut KSU's advantage to just one with a minute to play.
Terrell Burden then drove to the basket on the other side for a layup that was off the mark, but
Brandon Stroud leaped up for his 10
th rebound of the game and drew a foul, earning a pair of free throws. He sank both attempts at the charity stripe for a 71-68 KSU lead with 43 seconds to play. SLU was whistled for an offensive foul on the other end, giving the ball back to the Owls with 20 seconds to go.
STAT OF THE GAME #1: The Owls were on fire in the opening half, knocking down 58% of their shots from the floor, and a sizzling 10-of-19 from behind the arc.
STAT OF THE GAME #2: KSU held a 38-27 advantage on the boards, including 24-17 in the second half. That led to a 15-6 edge in second-chance points for the Owls.
OWL OF THE GAME: For the second-straight game, Stroud had an impressive all-around game, as he notched his fourth career double-double with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 10 rebounds, and a career-high four steals.
THE FIRST HALF: The Lions almost couldn't miss at the start, hitting seven of their first nine shots to open up a 17-9 lead seven minutes into the game. SLU led 26-21 when an 8-0 KSU gave the Owls a 29-26 advantage with under seven minutes left in the half. The lead switched hands again, until the Owls exploded on a 17-3 half-ending spurt. Five of KSU's six baskets during the run came from three-point land, and the Owls took a 46-34 lead into the break.
THE SECOND HALF: KSU steadily increased the lead to as high as 16 twice, the last at 67-51 with 7:32 to play. The Owls then went cold from the floor, missing their last eight field goal attempts. SLU took advantage, going on a 17-2 spurt over the next 6:24, as Boogie Anderson scored two of his game-high 23 points to make it a 69-68 contest. That set the scene for Stroud's last-minute heroics.
QUOTEABLE: "I thought we did a good job, especially at the end of the first half, in locking in on what our identity is. We've talked about being a defensive minded team, and we were active in gaps, active with our hands, finishing our possessions, and our communication was very good."-
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
- The last 3-1 start for Kennesaw State came as a Division II program, during the 2004-05 season, the year after the school's DII national championship season.
- Abdur-Rahim earned the win over his alma-mater, as he was a three-time all-conference guard for the Lions before graduating in 2004.
- KSU finished the day hitting 44.6% (25-of-56) from the floor, was 12-of-28 from three-point range (42.9%), and struggled at the line, connecting on 10-of-19 (58.8%).
- Youngblood paced KSU with 15 points, while
Demond Robinson added 13. Robinson also added two blocks and two steals.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls will play its second game of the MTE on Saturday in a 7 p.m. contest against the host ASU Mountaineers, in a game that will be streamed live on ESPN+.
