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SAN DIEGO – Despite an early lead, Kennesaw State could not hold off a San Diego State squad that came into the contest showing why they had been ranked for most of the season, as the Owls were at a big disadvantage on both the boards and in the paint in an 88-54 loss on Monday night in Viejas Arena. The loss snapped the Owls' two-game road win streak, sending KSU to 6-4 overall while the Aztecs remained perfect at home and moved to 8-3 for the season.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Aztecs held significant edges in both second chance points at 14-2, and points in the paint by a 40-16 margin.
THE FIRST HALF: KSU's three-point shooting at the start helped the visitors to an early lead. Three of the Owls' first four baskets were from downtown, including two from
Chris Youngblood on consecutive trips down the floor that put the Owls up 11-10. A free throw from
Alex Peterson would make the score 12-10 with 13:33 on the clock in the first half.
The Owls then made just one field goal over the next six minutes. SDSU meanwhile used its athleticism to score inside and would reel off a 19-2 run to take over the game at 29-14. The lead grew as high as 19 in the half before the Owls closed out with a 6-0 run over the final three minutes, including a three-pointer from
Spencer Rodgers to make the score 39-25.
THE SECOND HALF: The Aztecs shut down any hopes for a KSU comeback early, scoring the first eight points after halftime for a 48-25 lead. A 5-2 Owl run brought the lead under 20, before SDSU countered with the next ten points of the contest. SDSU would lead by as much as 40 in the game.
QUOTEABLE: "Some nights in sports, it's just not your night, you're out of sorts. And that's on me as leader of the program in needing to have them prepared and in the right mind space. We'll get back, watch the film and see where we need to grow and get better. This season is new territory for us, but it's going to be normal and consistent territory for us, and that's that we have people's attention now. We are a good basketball team; this is a good basketball program. Our start tonight is what I expected, we had great attention to the details, but in-between the start and end of the half, we got back to playing ISO ball, and San Diego State had a lot to do with that. When you're coming to Viejas Arena to play this program, in this environment, you can't have lapses and expect to be within striking distance."-
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-The Owls were playing a game in the state of California for the first time since November of 2014, a loss at California.
-KSU's 34-point loss was its largest since a 93-58 setback at Creighton on Dec. 2, 2020.
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Kasen Jennings started for the Owls and nearly match his career scoring total, finishing with a team-high 17 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three-point range, while he was also 5-of-6 at the line.
-As a team, KSU shot 34.7% from the floor, 34.8% from three-point range and 60% from the free throw line. The Aztecs meanwhile finished the night with a 50.8% field goal percentage, including 66.7% in the second half.
-KSU turned the ball over 21 times to just 12 for SDSU but kept the Aztec advantage on points off turnovers to just a 19-17 margin.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are back home for a two-game homestand at the Convocation Center, starting with Saturday's 2 pm contest against Georgia College.
