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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State is making a habit of big second-half comebacks, as the Owls trailed by 11 points with 15 minutes to play before rallying for a 74-71 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon in ASUN men's basketball action. In front of 1,902 fans on Alumni Day, the victory gave KSU its first-ever 20-win season in its Division I history (since 2005-06), as the Owls improved to 20-7 overall. Just as importantly, the win kept KSU in a tie for first-place in the ASUN at 12-2, setting up a massive showdown with Liberty next week.
OWL OF THE GAME: After a slow first half in which he scored just three points, senior guard Terrell Burden exploded in the second for 16, and also added six assists and three steals. His defensive play and ability to get to the basket in the second half was a huge key to the Owl comeback, while a steal and dunk at the 14:30 mark in the second gave him 1,000 points in his career, the 21st player in KSU history to reach that mark.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls held a game-deciding advantage on points off turnovers, which was 24-3 in favor of KSU, after forcing 16 miscues by the Gamecocks and committing only six themselves.
THE FIRST HALF: KSU held an 11-10 edge when the Gamecocks reeled off nine unanswered points to go up 19-11 with 12:24 on the clock. The Owls roared back with a 17-6 run of their own, taking a 28-25 edge thanks to back-to-back treys from Spencer Rodgers and Burden. Jax State then stepped up its defense, holding the Owls to just one field goal over the final six minutes. The Gamecocks scored 11 during that stretch to go up 36-30 entering halftime.
THE SECOND HALF: The Owls cut the edge to four early in the second half before Jax State took advantage of a pair of lucky breaks, first banking in a long three-point try at the shot clock buzzer, and then adding yet another long three-pointer at the shot clock buzzer on the next possession for a 44-35 lead. The grew as high as 11 twice, the last at 48-37 with 13:43 on the clock. JSU was up 54-46 when the Owls scored 15 of the next 22 points of the game, tying the game with a pair of Demond Robinson free throws with 5:44 to play. The Gamecocks responded with a trey to go back up three, and then Burden took over. He converted on two straight drives to the basket, and then feed Alex Peterson for a short jumper to put the Owls up 69-64 with 2:56 to play. JSU made it a one-possession game, 71-68, with 38 seconds to play, and then the Owls sank 3-of-4, sandwiched around a Gamecock trey, to make the lead three again with 13 seconds left. JSU had one last chance to tie the game but could only attempt a contested three-pointer that was off the mark.
POST-GAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH AMIR-ABDUR-RAHIM
On the second half comeback - "From the 12-minute media to the four-minute, I didn't step in the huddle once. My mindset was to respond, but I couldn't do anything for them when we were down 11. They knew what we needed to do, they knew we needed to get connected, they knew we needed to play together. I think Terrell Burden and Alex Peterson did an incredible job of using their voices to keep everyone connected. As a coach, you've got to learn when to step back. It's like being a parent, sometimes you have to step back and just guide, and I knew they would share my mindset that we needed to respond."
On the defense from Jacksonville State - "Coach Harper, he's been coaching 20 years, and he's probably forgot more basically then I've learned. So we knew the caliber of coach he is and that they would be prepared. We knew they would probably throw something different at us defensively from Thursday night, especially as part of a back-to-back and they did. I thought they did a good job of keeping us out of synch. But we weren't as connected defensively as we needed to in the first half, and they shot 48% in the first half, 50% on threes, and we cut that almost in half in the second. We continue to want to hang our hat on our defense and that's why we won tonight."
On reaching 20 victories - "Anytime as a coach you have an opportunity to win 20 games, it's special. The regular season is unbelievably hard, it tests you, it challenges you. To be able to sit here and be able to say we won 20 games for the first time in school history, it's special. Really excited for President Schwaig and our administration, because these are people that have poured their heart and soul into this university and to be to give back means the world to me."
NOTES
- KSU's 20th win of the season extends the school record (Division I era) for most wins in a season, as the previous record was 14 in 2016-17. It also surpasses the Owls' total wins from the previous three seasons combined (19).
-The Owls' 12th ASUN win also extends the new school standard, topping the 2006-07 team that went 10-10 in the conference.
-KSU is just one of 17 teams that are undefeated at home this season, while its school-record 13-game home win streak is tied for the eighth-longest in the nation.
-KSU has now rallied for victories from double-digit deficits in three of the past four games, as the Owls trailed by 17 at Bellarmine, 10 at Jax State on Thursday night and 11 on Saturday night against the Gamecocks.
-This was the first sweep of the season for the Owls, and first over an ASUN opponent since taking both games over Stetson in the 2021-22 campaign.
-KSU improved to 5-3 on the year in one-possession contests, after having gone 1-10 in the previous three years combined.
-Four Owls finished in double-figures. Joining Burden was Chris Youngblood (14), Spencer Rodgers (11) and Alex Peterson (10).
-The Owls shot 56% in the second half and 43.9% for the game from the floor. KSU was also 17-of-23 from the free throw line for 73.9%, including 14-of-17 in the second half (82.4%).
NEXT TIME OUT: Thursday will be a showdown of the top two teams in the ASUN, and giving the meeting even more importance is that this will also be the only game of the regular season between Kennesaw State and Liberty. The game will tip-off at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center, and will be streamed live on ESPN+. It's Gold Rush night at KSU, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free KSU Gold T-shirt.
