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KENNESAW, Ga. – Down eight points at halftime, Kennesaw State came out on a mission to start the second half, outscoring North Florida 54-32 to avenge its only conference loss of the season with an 86-72 victory in ASUN men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon from the Convocation Center. The victory moved the Owls into a tie for first-place in the ASUN standings at 5-1, along with Stetson and Eastern Kentucky.
This was also the 13
th win of the season for KSU, tying its season-win mark from a year ago (13-6 overall), while the Owls extended their school-record home win streak to 10 games. That is currently tied for the 21
st-longest active home win streak in the nation.
OWL OF THE GAME: Brandon Stroud stood out Saturday out with a season-high 18 points, just one off his career-high. He was 3-of-4 from three-point range and added five rebounds and a pair of assists.
STAT OF THE GAME #1: The Owls almost couldn't miss from the floor in the second half, hitting 23-of-34 attempts for 67.7%, including 4-of-9 from three-point range for 44.4%. On two-point attempts, KSU was 19-of-25 for 76%.
STAT OF THE GAME #2: For the first time since the regular season finale a year ago, the Owls placed at least five players in double-figures as six Owls scored 10+ against the Ospreys, with a seventh finishing at eight points. Stroud (18),
Terrell Burden (13), Robinson (12), Peterson (12),
Kasen Jennings (11) and
Chris Youngblood (10) all posted double-figures for KSU in the contest.
THE FIRST HALF: KSU opened with the game's first five points, but the rest of the opening half went to the visitors. A 12-4 run, which featured four UNF three-pointers, put the Ospreys ahead 12-9 with 12:20 left on the clock. The Owls would tie the game three times in the half and were within 26-25 at the 5:40 mark. UNF ended the half though with four points in the final 45 seconds for a 40-32 halftime advantage.
THE SECOND HALF: It didn't take long for KSU to take control, opening with an 11-3 run to knot the game at 43-43 on a three-point play from Youngblood. That was just the beginning of an overall 21-7 spurt over the first six minutes that put the Owls up 53-47 on a layup from Burden. UNF was within five at 59-54, before Youngblood drained a trey and Burden added another layup for a 10-point edge. The Owls led by at least eight points the rest of the afternoon.
QUOTEABLE: "We needed to get connected defensively in the second half. In the first half we were a little bit spread out, and UNF is a good, well coached team. The second half was about supporting each other better, getting in the gaps, and that helped our offense when we could get out and run the ball. We've got to play with a grit and toughness when we go for the boards, since we play with four guards and other teams are normally bigger than us. We always talk about working on that and I felt we did a great job on that today with our rebounding advantage."
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-KSU's 13 wins for the season are tied for the second-most in the school's Division I history, along with the 2006-07, 2009-10 and 2021-22 squads.
-The Owls trailed at halftime for just the third time this season (San Diego State, Florida). The eight-point halftime deficit was the largest overcome by KSU for a win since the Owls trailed by 15 at the half in an 80-74 win over Brewton-Parker on Nov. 14, 2016.
-Burden became the fourth Owl to record 300 career assists, as he finished the night with a season-high eight to finish with exactly 300.
-For the second-straight game the Owls shot over 55% for the game, finishing the contest hitting 36-of-64 for 56.3%. KSU was also 9-of-21 from three-point range for 42.9%.
-The Owls held a commanding 35-23 advantage on the boards, including 11-2 on the offensive boards.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls are on the road for a battle of first-place teams as they will face Stetson in the only matchup of the regular season between the two on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Deland, Fla., in a game streamed live on ESPN+.
