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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A cold day from outside for Kennesaw State, paired with a hot performance from behind the arc for Western Kentucky was the difference as the Owls dropped an 85-69 contest in Conference USA men's basketball action from E.A. Diddle Arena on Saturday afternoon. The loss dropped KSU to 9-7 on the year, 1-2 in league play, while the Hilltoppers moved to 11-6, 2-2 in CUSA.

STAT OF THE GAME: KSU made just one of its first 19 attempts from three-point range, and finished the day hitting a season-low 19.5% (8-of-41). Western Kentucky meanwhile was 11-of-26 from behind the arc, 7-of-16 in the opening 20 minutes.

THE FIRST HALF: Adrian Wooley converted a layup with 16:31 left to bring KSU within 9-7 with 11:08 to play. The Owls would make just two field goals over the next 10+ minutes, and the Hilltoppers took advantage of that cold spell. A 24-5 run by the home team, which included both a 7-0 and 12-0 scoring runs, led to a 33-12 advantage for WKU with 6:10 left in the half. KSU finally found its offense, as Simeon Cottle scored five straight, followed by a 4-0 run from Wooley to make it a 12-point game. WKU would finish the opening half with a 40-25 lead.

THE SECOND HALF: The Owls found their offense in the second half, opening the half with a three from Wooley, part of a 11-5 run to cut the deficit to single digits, 45-36 on a Braedan Lue free throw with 14:42 to play. Ricardo Wright's first trey of the second half brought KSU within seven points, 48-41, and hit drained another at 10:08 to again bring the Owls within single digits at 57-49. KSU could come no closer though, and after Lue cut the lead down to 70-61 with 4:41 to play, the Toppers scored five straight to go back up 14. The margin stayed in double-figures the rest of the way.

NOTES 
- Wooley recorded his first career double-double with a game-high 27 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
- Also in double-figures was Cottle with 15, while Lue grabbed 10 rebounds.
- KSU finished the game shooting 32.9% (23-of-70) form the floor, while WKU shot 26-of-61 for 42.6%.

NEXT TIME OUT: The Owls come back home to host Sam Houston on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Convocation Center. The game will also be streamed live on ESPN+.