By Chris Raimondi
Junior guard Delbert Love scored his 1,000th career point for KSU in one of his best performances of the season in an 86-73 loss on Sunday against the East Tennessee State Buccaneers in Johnson City, Tn.
Love led KSU in scoring with 22 points but his record day wasn’t enough to stop ETSU’s red hot second half that silenced the Owls impressive effort. Ten of Love’s 22 would come in the second half and he would also record four assists and four rebounds.
“Delbert had a great outing and we’re thrilled for him,” KSU interim head coach Jimmy Lallathin said. “He was good for us today and he was the leader we needed out there.”
KSU got off to its best start against a conference opponent by holding the Bucs scoreless until the 17:21 mark and jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. The Owls got a double-digit lead after a Myles Hamilton free throw at 16:43 and were able to keep it a three possession game until less than 10 minutes to go in the half.
ETSU started to heat up with fewer than eight to go with a pair of layups and a free-throw that cut the Owls’ lead to five points. KSU guard Yonel Brown would answer with a three-pointer, extending the Owls’ advantage to eight with six minutes to go. However ETSU’s guard play of AJ Merriweather and Rashawn Rembert would not be stopped as the half drew closer. The duo would combine for 10 points with under six to go and the half would end knotted up at 35.
KSU came out of the locker room confident to begin the half by taking the lead after a Hamilton jumper. The Owls would not trail through the first six minutes of the second half until ETSU tied the game at 50 at the 14:05 mark.
However, KSU would not be able to hold off the home team for much longer. ETSU would hit a three-pointer and take the lead at the 12:34 mark and never look back. Senior Andrew Osemhen would get a double technical along with Lukas Poderis for ETSU and both players would be ejected. Following the ejections, ETSU would go on a 17-6 run.
ETSU shot 51 percent in the second half and converted 12-12 free-throws. The Owls’ defense is what crippled them down the stretch as the offense went for 48 percent shooting and hit 5-11 three-pointers in the second half. The simple things seemed to hold the Owls back as the team would miss 10 free-throws on the game and commit 17 turnovers and 28 fouls.
“Offensively, we shot 48 percent in the second half and that’s right where we need to be,” Lallathin said. “ETSU just made some tough shots and we sent them to the line too much. We’ll learn from our mistakes and we’re much closer than it appears at times, we just need to stay the course.”
The Owls will return to the Convocation Center on Friday Feb. 7 when they take on in-state rival Mercer.
