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LYNCHBURG, Va. – Kennesaw State was just seconds away from claiming one of the biggest wins in school history, but Liberty was able to tie the game with two seconds left and prevailed in overtime 100-93 in an absolutely thrilling contest between the two ASUN men's basketball squads on Saturday afternoon in the regular season finale for both teams. In what was the third highest scoring game in KSU's Division I history, the Owls tied their season-high with 15 made three-pointers, but couldn't overcome Liberty's Darius McGhee, the nation's second-leading scorer who finished with 47 on his Senior Day.
Despite the loss, the Owls (12-17) still held onto the fourth seed in the East division with their 7-9 ASUN conference record. KSU will host a postseason game for the first time in the school's Division I history (since 2005-06) as the Owls will take on the fifth seed in the West, Eastern Kentucky, on Tuesday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center. Fans can buy tickets for the first round
HERE.
KSU led for most of the game including the entire first half, and grabbed a four-point edge, 75-71 after a block by
Alex Peterson that led to a
Spencer Rodgers trey with 1:16 to play. Liberty (21-10, 12-4) went to the line for a pair of free throws on its next two possessions, while KSU made two of their own, giving KSU a two-point lead with 51 seconds on the clock. The Owls ran down the clock before missing a shot but forced a missed shot by McGhee on the other end. After a KSU timeout, the Flames stole the inbounds pass and drew a foul on a drive by McGhee with two seconds left. He sank both to tie the game and send it to overtime at 77-77.
Foul trouble hampered the Owls in overtime, as KSU lost two of its two defenders to five fouls at the end of regulation and in the first minute of the extra period in
Brandon Stroud and
Terrell Burden. Liberty took advantage by getting to the line 10 times in the overtime period and would score 23 points while leading the entire time to hold on for the victory.
FIRST HALF: At the start it was the Owls that were the aggressive team on offense, scoring the game's first seven points and leading 12-3 just four minutes in. KSU has vastly improved its field goal percentage over the past few weeks on offense, and that showed in the opening 20 minutes as anytime Liberty threatened to close the margin, the Owls would respond with a three. KSU led by as much as 11 in the first half and went into halftime up 42-37 after shooting 51.7%, 60% from three-point land (6-of-10).
SECOND HALF: A 12-3 run a few minutes into the second half gave the Flames their first lead of the game, with a three-point play capping the run to make the score 54-50 in favor of the hosts. Liberty extended the lead to six twice and led by five with just over four minutes to play but the Owls wouldn't go away easily. Five quick points tied the game at 68-68, and after a Liberty free throw, KSU scored seven of the game's next nine points for the 75-71 advantage, setting up the final minutes.
STAT OF THE GAME: Liberty finished the afternoon hitting 37-of-44 at the free throw line, as KSU was called for 31 total fouls in the contest. McGhee led the way as he was 16-of-18 at the charity stripe. KSU meanwhile was 22-of-30.
QUOTEABLE:
"We've been trying to build our DNA for the past two years; we've been through enough games to build that. I never worry about their ability to fight and compete and stay with it when you get down. Really proud of it in that case but it's part of building, you have to go through tough losses like that and learn how to execute to come away with the win."-
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
- Five player scored in double-figures for KSU, led by
Chris Youngblood's 17. Rodgers was next with 15, while Burden,
Demond Robinson and
Jamir Moultrie all added 11 each.
- The 93 points far surpassed the previous high points for KSU in the all-time series with Liberty which had been 63.
- KSU finished the game shooting 45.9% (28-of-61) from the floor and 53.8% (15-of-28) from three-point range. The 15 made three-pointers are tied for third-most ever in a game for the Owls, and gives KSU 234 for the season, increasing the single-season team record that was set in the last game. The previous record has been 215 during the 2009-10 season.
- Liberty shot 50% (28-of-56) for the game, including 6-of-7 in the overtime period.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are set for a rematch with EKU in the ASUN Tournament First Round. In the only other meeting this year, the Colonels escaped with an 82-81 triple-overtime victory over KSU in Richmond, Ky., on February 3.
