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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Kennesaw State rallied from a late seven-point deficit for an 84-83 lead in the final minute, but North Florida's Jose Placer hit a pair of three-pointers in the final 27 seconds, including a well-beyond NBA-range trey to beat the buzzer and break a tie for an 89-86 victory over the Owls in a high-scoring ASUN men's basketball contest on Thursday night at UNF Arena. This marked the fourth straight meeting in the series that was decided in the final 10 seconds and moved both teams to 2-1 in ASUN action.
STAT OF THE GAME: Three-point shooting was the story of the game, as the Owls (10-6) drained 9-of-13 from behind the arc in the opening half for a 69.2% mark. KSU cooled down in the second half though, hitting just 2-of-7, while UNF (7-8) made 9-of-14 (64.3%) from downtown in the second stanza. That was highlighted by Pacer's strong shooting night as he hit 10-of-15 of his three-point attempts.
THE FIRST HALF: Kennesaw State picked apart the Osprey defense in the first half, going ahead by as many as nine thanks to its three-point shooting and work on the boards. KSU finished the half with a 9-4 edge on offensive boards, leading to a 14-7 advantage on second-chance points. The Owls finished with a 45-43 lead at the break and posted 13 assists on 18 made baskets.
THE SECOND HALF: KSU went up by eight on a
Demond Robinson jumper, 54-46 with 15:41 to play in the game. The Owls still led 62-60 with 10 minutes to play when Robinson picked up his third and fourth foul just 30 seconds apart, sending the senior to the bench. UNF took advantage of his absence to go on an 18-10 run, for a 79-72 advantage with 4:20 on the clock.
Terrell Burden then led KSU on a rally, scoring the Owls' next eight points of the game, bringing KSU within 83-82 with 1:29 to play. Robinson scored on an offensive putback to put the Owls up one, before Placer hit the first of his final two treys. Down two with under 30 seconds to play,
Kasen Jennings drove into the lane before finding Robinson for a game-tying layup. UNF called timeout, and Placer brought the ball up the court before pulling up well before the three-point line for the game-winner.
QUOTEABLE: "Disappointing loss down here tonight at North Florida. That was a special performance by Jose Placer, but we didn't do a good enough job in areas we needed to be sharp in to come out of here with a win. We played well enough offensively to win the game, but our defense and where our identity lies in our program was nonexistent tonight. We did a poor job of being locked in on the scout details on what we needed to come down here and get a win. That's 100% on me as the head coach, I did a poor job in having them prepared and having a sense of urgency in the areas that we needed to have a sense of urgency, our transition defense was non-existent on makes and misses. This falls completely on my shoulders, I have to do a better job, and we'll be ready to bounce back at Queens College."
Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim
NOTES
-The Owls came into the game holding teams in conference play to under 35% shooting, but allowed UNF to shoot 54.7% (29-of-53), while the Ospreys made 15-of-28 from three-point land.
-KSU shot 50% for the night (34-of-68), and 55% from behind the arc (11-of-22). The Ospreys did have a decided advantage at the line, as they were awarded 28 free throws and hit 16 for 57.1%. KSU meanwhile had just 12 free throw attempts for the game and none in the first half.
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Chris Youngblood led the Owls with 18 points. Stroud and Burden were next with 13, while Robinson added 12 in just 13 minutes of action.
-KSU finished the game with a 40-28 edge on the boards. That included a 15-7 margin on the offensive boards, but the Owls grabbed only one total offensive board after halftime.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls close out their two-game road trip with their first-ever meeting with new league member Queens on Saturday at 8 pm in Charlotte. The game will be lived streamed on ESPN+.
