The KSU Men’s Basketball team suffered their 8th conference loss on Saturday as the Owls fell to Northern Kentucky 64-53.
“We had an opportunity to take the lead,” said head coach Lewis Preston. “I’m proud of my guys.”
Forward Aaron Anderson scored a team-high 14 points for the Owls to go along with 10 rebounds. Overall the team had a poor shooting night shooting 36 percent from the field. The Owls were down at halftime and at one point were behind by 15. The team used a 24 to 6 run to get within three but the comeback fell just short as the team ran out of gas as they were playing without leading scorer and star player Markeith Cummings.
Foul trouble came into play as Lewis Preston’s squad only dressed 8 players and accumulated 19 fouls including 4 on Anderson and 4 on junior forward Brandon Dawson. A short bench, foul trouble and tired legs are never a recipe for success on the road against a conference foe.
Playing in front of a Homecoming crowd of over 4,000, Eshaunte Jones led Northern Kentucky with a game high 25 points. He shot 8-19 from the field and hit four three pointers against the Owls’ defense. The Norse came into the game with a 5-11 record overall including 3-5 in the Atlantic Sun.
The loss puts the Owls at 2-19 on the season and 1-8 in the Atlantic Sun. The team will get another opportunity to notch their second conference win on Friday as they travel to Macon to face rival Mercer.
“We are going to have to handle the pressure, and come out and play with passion and energy,” Preston said.
This will be their second meeting this season. The Owls “Beat Mercer” back in January 83-75.
