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DELAND, Fla. – Kennesaw State senior guard
Terrell Burden's layup with 7.2 seconds left in overtime completed a huge 10-3 rally in the final two minutes as the Owls came out with a thrilling 82-81 road victory at Stetson in ASUN men's basketball action Wednesday night from the Edmunds Center. What started as a matchup of two teams tied for first in the conference would turn into a battle that saw both squads make huge runs in the first half and the beginning of the second. During the final 20 minutes of the game, the only time either team held a lead of more than three points was Stetson in the opening minutes of overtime.
The victory was the Owls' school-record 14
th of the season (14-6 overall), while KSU moved to 6-1 in ASUN play. That also puts them into a two-way tie with Liberty for first in the league. Stetson meanwhile dropped to 10-8, and 5-2 in the ASUN with its first home loss of the season.
OWL OF THE GAME: Four players finished in double-figures but it was Burden that made the game-deciding play when he drove down the left side of the lane and converted a layup high off the glass for his 14
th point of the night. He finished 7-of-13 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds while adding three assists and also added a pair of blocks.
STAT OF THE GAME: The game featured 12 ties and 12 lead changes, all in the final 15 minutes of the second half and the overtime period.
THE FIRST HALF: Brandon Stroud came out on fire for the Owls, scoring nine of KSU's first 12 points less than five minutes into the game. After Stetson drained a trey to close within 17-11, the Owls exploded for a 20-5 run over the next five minutes of the game. Youngblood was fouled on a three-point shot and made all three attempts for KSU's largest lead of the night at 37-16, and a three-pointer from
Spencer Rodgers at the halftime buzzer make it a 43-27 advantage for the Owls.
THE SECOND HALF: After hitting just four out of 13 attempts from three-point range in the first half, Stetson came out firing in the second, knocking down three in the first three minutes to spark a 20-4 run. The Hatters' fourth trey of the night put Stetson ahead for the first time in the game at 52-51 with 11:44 to play in the half. From there it was back and forth with each basket answered. KSU looked to be in position to grab the win in overtime thanks to a three-point play from
Demond Robinson with 1:32 to go. Following a Stetson basket, KSU broke the press and found
Kasen Jennings for a wide-open breakaway dunk and a 72-69 lead with 20 seconds to play. The Hatters though drained a trey from the top of the key with 12 seconds left to knot the score at 72-72. KSU had two chances for a game-winning shot but came up on both, sending the game to overtime.
OVERTIME: The momentum went to the home team after they knocked in a pair of threes just 30 seconds apart, going up 78-72 with 2:54 on the clock. It was a five-point game with 1:30 to go when
Chris Youngblood scored on a layup to bring KSU within 79-76. The junior then stole an inbounds pass and scored on a fast break dunk to not only make it a 79-78 contest, it also made him the 20
th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points. Both teams then traded baskets on their next possessions, with KSU calling timeout after an
Alex Peterson basket made the score 81-80. Coming out of the timeout, the Owls came up with a huge defensive play by causing a five-second call on the inbounds pass with 14 seconds left. KSU would make the turnover count with Burden's game-winner. The Owls did not allow a clean look on the other end, with Burden blocking the final shot attempt to seal with win.
QUOTEABLE: "I want to give a hats off to Stetson, I think both of our teams mimic each other very well. With all that being said, in our program we try to teach our players life through the game. In this game, it gave you everything life does. It gave you ups, it gave you downs, it gave you adversity, it gave you triumphs. And then it came right back and gave you more adversity. Our guys are high character kids, all were chosen and want to be at Kennesaw State, and that was a character win. Demond tonight, he's a kid that's grown leaps and bounds since he's been here, on and off the court, can't be prouder of him, having him when he wants the ball and to make plays for his teammates like he did at the end. Chris, if there was a picture in the dictionary of consistency, it would show
Chris Youngblood. That play at the end, he's grown so much and has already been a great offensive player, but we told him on that play what we wanted to do and he played it to perfection. Terrell, watching him battle the way he did tonight, his leadership, there were three or four times tonight when he took the huddle and I didn't have to say a word, he led the huddles, and his heart tonight to make those plays, that's my point guard, that's my general." -
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-KSU's 14
th win of the season matches the 2016-17 squad for most wins as a Division I program. The Owls finished that season at 14-18 overall.
-With their fifth road win of the season, the Owls are just one off the school record after posting a 6-13 mark in 2016-17. KSU is currently 5-5 on the road this year.
-The Owls won an overtime contest for the first time in 11 years, snapping a five-game losing streak in games that went to extra time. The last win was a 67-65 victory at South Carolina State on Nov. 12, 2012.
-KSU has scored at least 80+ points in three straight games for the first time since the 2016-17 season. The Owls scored 81 against Jacksonville on Jan. 12 and 86 against North Florida on Jan. 14.
-Stroud finished the night with a team-high 15 points, while Youngblood added 14 points and Robinson posted 12.
Alex Peterson had another strong game off the bench with nine points and five rebounds, and now was 21 total points over his past two games.
-KSU shot 51.7% (30-of-58) for the game, and made 5-of-8 from the floor in the overtime period. That helped offset Stetson's 13-of-28 performance from three-point range (46.4%).
-KSU held big advantages in both points in the paint (42-26) and points off turnovers (25-14). Stetson meanwhile posted a 17-10 edge on second chance points, thanks to grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, part of an overall 36-34 edge on the boards.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls remain in the Sunshine State as they will take on FGCU on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Fort Myers, in a game streamed live on ESPN+.
