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KENNESAW, Ga. – After going into halftime with a two-point edge, Kennesaw State opened the second half on a 29-6 run to take control on the way to an 82-66 victory over Central Arkansas in the ASUN men's basketball season opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon from the Convocation Center. It was the second straight year the Owls have won their league opener, moving them to 9-5 overall, while the Bears dropped to 5-9.
STAT OF THE GAME - #1: It was a highlight defensive performance for the Owls, as they limited UCA to just 35.4% shooting (23-of-65) for the game and forced 21 turnovers thanks to 15 steals.
STAT OF THE GAME - #2: After having trouble with shots falling in the first half, KSU came out on fire in the second and would finish the half hitting 19-of-32 for 59.4% from the floor. Even more impressive, the Owls were 7-of-14 from three-point range after halftime.
OWL OF THE GAQE: Senior
Demond Robinson turned in a career afternoon for the Owls, as he was 8-of-13 from the floor for a game and career-high 21 points, while also adding six rebounds.
THE FIRST HALF: KSU led almost the entire way and broke an 8-8 tie with five straight points to go up 13-8 on a layup from Robinson. Another 5-0 run midway through the half, with a three-pointer from
Chris Youngblood and a dunk from
Brandon Stroud, put the Owls up by nine, 23-14 with 8:41 on the clock. KSU went cold from the floor near the end of the half however, going over three minutes without a made field goal. The Bears took advantage to tie the game twice, the last at 31-30.
Alex Peterson then scored on a layup to put KSU ahead 33-31 going into the break.
THE SECOND HALF: After the teams traded baskets, it was the KSU show for the next nine minutes. Back-to-back treys from
Kasen Jennings and Stroud keyed a 12-0 run that put KSU ahead 47-33, and the Owls led by at least double digits the rest of the way. A dunk from Peterson and a pair of free throws from
Simeon Cottle gave the Owls their largest lead of the day at 62-37.
QUOTEABLE: "You go seven days without playing a game, we needed to get a little bit of our timing back, getting bumped a little, that seemed to affect our offense at the start. Defensively though we did what we needed to in the first half to hold them to just 31 points. I think our communication on defense was great, we had a lot of deflections, a lot of steals, to turn them over 21 times means you're connecting on a really high level. We always want to keep getting better, not worry as much about the shot going in, which we did in the first half. In the second half we had that mindset of needing to get better."
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-KSU's record home win streak increased to seven games with the victory.
-The Owls are now a perfect 2-0 all-time against Central Arkansas.
-KSU's nine wins before Jan. 1, nine wins as a Division I program before Jan. 1, and six wins over a Division I program before Jan. 1 are all new program-highs in the team's Division I history.
-Robinson was one of four players in double-figures for KSU, as he was joined by Youngblood (14), Stroud (12) and
Spencer Rodgers (10). Youngblood added a game-high tying eight rebounds.
-The Owls won despite losing the rebound battle 46-37. They did hold the overall edge in second chance points though at 16-15.
-KSU moved to 2-3 all-time when playing on New Year's Eve.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls start the New Year with another home conference battle, as Kennesaw State will host Eastern Kentucky on Monday, Jan. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Convocation Center in a rematch of the ASUN Tournament First Round. Fans can get one free kid's ticket for every adult ticket purchased, while the halftime entertainment will be Red Panda. Tickets can be purchased
here.
