KSU vs Jacksonville Box Score (PDF)
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RICHMOND, Ky. – Kennesaw State's
Simeon Cottle and
Terrell Burden combined for 59 points, each topping the previous school single-game scoring record in the postseason, but the Owls couldn't stop Jacksonville's offensive output in the second half as they saw their season end Monday night with a 92-86 loss in the first round of the 2024 Atlantic Sun Championships.
STAT OF THE GAME: JU shot 62.1% (18-of-29) from the floor after halftime, and 7-of-10 from three-point range on the way to a 57-point second half, the most scored by a KSU opponent this season. That was enough to offset KSU's strong second half where the Owls show 58.8% (20-of-34) themselves and scored 53 points.
THE FIRST HALF: It was a game of runs in the opening half. A 13-4 run gave the Dolphins an early 15-8 edge eight minutes into the game. KSU would counter a few minutes later with a 9-0 run, with four different players scoring to put the Owls back ahead 19-18 at the 9:17 mark on a
Frankquon Sherman putback off a missed free throw. JU quickly answered with 12 unanswered for its largest lead of the game, 30-19 with 6:33 on the clock. Burden, playing in his final game for the Black and Gold, hit back-to-back treys to start a 14-5 run to end the half, as KSU trailed 35-33 at the break.
THE SECOND HALF: A three-pointer from Cottle and a
Demond Robinson dunk to begin the second half put the Owls up three, while a jumper from Robinson gave KSU its largest lead of the game, 43-38 four minutes into the half. The Owls led 49-45 when Robert McCray hit back-to-back three-pointers, followed by four straight free throws from the Dolphins for a 10-0 run and a 55-49 lead with 11:34 to play. The Owls were forced to play catchup the rest of the way, and several times closed within a single possession, but the Dolphins answered every time. After Burden scored with 1:34 left to bring KSU within 87-83, the Owls would not hit another shot until the final three seconds. The Dolphins meanwhile went 3-of-4 at the line and added a layup to seal the game.
POSTGAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH ANTOINE PETTWAY
"Very tough end to the season tonight. We faced a team we had beat twice, always hard to beat a team three times, and we just didn't get enough stops tonight. I'm still proud of the guys the way they competed and showed up every day for me. It's going to be sad to not see
Terrell Burden,
Demond Robinson,
Cole LaRue and
Armani Harris in a KSU uniform again. We had some great moments this year, being on SportsCenter, some great non-conference moments, but don't like how we finished the year. But we're going to use it as motivation for next year and we're going to work our tails off so this doesn't happen again."
NOTES
-New school records set for a postseason game included points in a game, previously held by both Kendrick Ray (2017) and Burden (2021). Burden finished Monday night with 28 points, while Cottle topped that with 29 after shooting 10-of-13 from the floor, and 5-of-6 from three-point range.
-Burden added nine assists in the game, topping his previous record of eight set against Eastern Kentucky in the 2022 first round.
-KSU's 86 total points is a new postseason record as well, topping the 82 scored against EKU in the 2022 tournament.
-Robinson finished the game with his sixth double-double of the year with 13 points and 13 rebounds. His 13 rebounds are the second-most ever by an Owl in a postseason game.
