The Owls traveled this past Saturday to Spartanburg, South Carolina and fell on the road 79-67 to USC Upstate.
However, there were some bright spots in the contest Saturday. Senior forward Markeith Cummings totaled 28 points for the Owls, and recorded 2,000 points for his career. Cummings is the sixth player in Atlantic-Sun Conference history to reach this special milestone. He has played in 117 career games for the Owls. Cummings was 9 for 18 from the field and 8 for 9 from the foul line.
“He has played a lot of games in a Kennesaw State University uniform and I want him to finish out his career strong over the next few weeks,” said KSU head coach Lewis Preston. “I am very happy for him. The accomplishment says a lot about him.”
In addition to Cummings’ stellar performance, the Owls had a 12 point lead at half time.
As the half progressed they were outscored 52-28 in the second half as the Spartans came out strong. The Spartans shot an impressive 72.7 percent from the field. USC Upstate also crashed the boards and held a 22-9 advantage over KSU throughout the final 20 minutes.
“They went inside on us and at a certain point in time you have to not allow yourself to be scored on,” Preston said.
The Spartans had a strong performance out of Torrey Craig, the A-Sun scoring leader. Craig recorded a double-double on 24 points and 12 rebounds. USC Upstate forward Ricardo Glenn also scored 21 points. Craig and Glenn went 15 for 21 from the field over the course of the game.
KSU had a strong offensive performance to begin the game as they shot 45.2 percent from the field. KSU gave up the lead with 12 minutes to play as Torrey Craig scored to put the Spartans in front by a score of 49-47. After USC Upstate claimed the lead, the Owls never were able to get it back. KSU freshman Nigel Pruitt scored 10 points, which was his third straight double-digit scoring game.
The Owls return to action Thursday, Feb. 21as they host Northern Kentucky in the Convocation Center at 7 p.m. Coach Preston outlined a few keys to the Northern Kentucky game.
“We need to guard our guys we can’t let them get in the paint and rebound the ball,” Preston said. “The crowd support over the course of the year has been great.”