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LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – Kennesaw State's shooting was as cold as the weather outside, while UC Irvine shot 50% from the floor and won the battle of the boards on the way to a 76-59 victory over the Owls in the first game of the Western Slam in men's college basketball action Thursday night from the ENMAX Centre. The loss snapped KSU's (5-2) four-game win streak while the Anteaters improved to 6-0 for the season.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Owls were held to season-lows on both field goal percentage (35.5%) and three-point field goal percentage (17.4%), as they connected on a season-low four three-pointers out of 23 attempts.
THE FIRST HALF: The game started out positive for the Owls, as Adrian Wooley scored the game's first five points, while Simeon Cottle added a basket to make it a 7-2 score three minutes in. UCI answered with an 8-0 run, before a pair of free throws from Wooley and Cottle tied the score again at 11-11. The game was tied one more time, until the Anteaters went on a 16-2 spurt over a five-minute span, going up 29-15. KSU closed within eight twice, but a three-pointer from UCI to close the half made it a 43-27 halftime score.
THE SECOND HALF: Jamil Miller opened the scoring with a three-pointer to close the edge to 13 points. UCI responded with a 8-0 run to go up 21, and would lead by as much as 23 in the second half.
POSTGAME QUOTES
KSU HEAD COACH ANTOINE PETTWAY
"We struggled tonight on both ends of the floor. Just wasn't our night. Tonight, they were the ones that were disruptive defensively and did not allow us to get in transition and play our style of play. But UC Irvine is a really experienced, talented group that was well organized, well coached, and they made all our stuff hard to run. So we got to get back to the hotel, regroup, look at the video, get better from it, and we've got to get our pop back. We needed to defend better, I think they shot over 65% from two. But that's why we came here to Canada, to go against teams like that. We came here to learn and get better from these type games. Now we're going to regroup and get ready for Towson in the morning.
NOTES
- Wooley led all scorers with a career-high 19 points. Cottle was the only other player in double-figures with 12.
- KSU came into the game third in the nation in rebound margin, but was outrebounded 41-32, though the Owls did own a 12-5 edge on second chance points.
NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls continue action in the Western Slam by taking on Towson at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on Friday and close out the event against Kent State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. (ET), with both games being streamed live on ESPN+.
