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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – In an absolute thrilling Conference USA quarterfinal matchup, Kennesaw State's Simeon Cottle scored a career-high tying 32 points to lead the fourth-seeded Owls past New Mexico State 80-77 on Thursday night from Propst Arena. KSU improved to 19-13 overall with the victory and have reached the semifinals of a conference tournament for the fourth time in the team's Division I history. NM State meanwhile fell to 17-15.
OWL OF THE GAME: It was a record-setting performance for Cottle in the game, as the 32 points are the most ever scored by an Owl in a Division I conference tournament game. That topped the previous record of 29, also held by Cottle against Jacksonville in the opening round of the 2024 Atlantic Sun Tournament in Richmond, Ky.
STAT OF THE GAME: KSU shot 79% at the free throw line (23-of-29), while the Aggies struggled all night, hitting just 15-of-27 for 56%.
THE FIRST HALF: The Owls started out with an early 7-2 lead, but NM State's Robert Carpenter hit three straight treys, part of a 16-2 run for the Aggies. A dunk at 11:32 gave the Aggies their largest lead of the game at 18-9. It was an eight-point edge when KSU found its range from downtown, knocking in five of their next seven from three-point range. An Adrian Wooley made it a one-point game, and after NM State answered with a trey, KSU went 6-of-6 at the line to take a 34-32 lead, before the Aggies tied the score on a layup at the buzzer. The game was tied two more times, the last at 65-65 with 4:39 on the clock. Wooley then drove down the lane for a score and Ricardo Wright added a free throw for a three-point edge. After an Aggie basket, Wright drained a trey to put KSU up four with under three to play.
THE SECOND HALF: KSU stayed hot to start the second half, knocking in three early treys, part of a 15-3 run out of the break. Cottle scored seven during the run, and his jumper made it 49-37 with 15:03 to play. After the teams traded baskets, NM State went on a 12-0 run to tie the game at 51-51. Five straight Cottle points put KSU up 61-55, and then the Aggies countered with an 8-0 run to go up 63-61. That was the last lead of the night for NM State, as the Owls hit four straight free throws to take a two-point lead. After the Aggies tied the game, KSU scored six of the next eight points for a 71-67 lead. With the Owls holding onto a two-point lead in the final 30 seconds, Rongie Gordon hit one-of-two for a 78-75 lead. NM State then attempted a three on the other end that was off, but Jae'C Osborne rebounded the miss and scored while he was also awarded a foul as well, sending him to the line with a chance to tie the game with three seconds to play. His attempt was strong off the backboard, and Wooley collected the rebound. He sealed the game with a pair of free throws on the other end.
NOTES
- KSU is playing in a conference tournament game for the second time in three years, following the 2023 Atlantic Sun Tournament where KSU would go all the way to the tournament title.
- This was the third all-time meeting between the two teams, and KSU now leads the series 2-1.
- The win was KSU's ninth win this season over a Top-150 NET school.
- A pair of freshman joined Cottle in double-figures, as Braedan Lue posted his second career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
- Wooley meanwhile finished with 17 points. He set a new KSU freshman single season scoring mark (D1 era) as he currently stands with 592, topping the previous record of 576 set by Markeith Cummings in 2009-10.
- KSU shot 45% (23-of-51) for the game, and was 11-of-25 from three-point range for 44%. The Aggies meanwhile were just 8-of-23 from three-point range (35%), and 4-of-14 in the second half (29%).
- Lue's four blocks in the game are tied for the most in a conference tournament game by an Owl, as that mark was achieved twice before. The team's seven total blocks are a new school standard for a conference tournament game as well.
- Cottle was 12-of-14 at the free throw line, the most free throws ever made by an Owl in a conference tournament game.
NEXT UP – CONFERENCE USA SEMIFINALS: The fourth-seeded Owls will face top-seed Liberty on Friday at 12:30 p.m. (ET), in a game televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
This year's tournament is being held in the Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala., from March 11-March 15. Tickets are available for purchase at conferenceusa.com.
