Chris Raimondi—Sports Editor
The 2014-15 season got off to a rough start for Kennesaw State’s men’s basketball team as they fell to No. 23 ranked Syracuse in the Carrier Dome 89-42 Friday night.
The Owls competed through the first few minutes, trailing only 9-7 after a jumper in the lane by Memphis transfer Damien Wilson cut the early deficit to two. The Owls came away with a rebound on the Orange’s next possession, but a missed layup by KSU resulted in a Syracuse dunk on the other end. “That sort of sent us in a whirl,” KSU head coach Jimmy Lallathin said.
The Syracuse 2-3 zone gave the Owls problems all night, forcing 25 KSU turnovers and 15 steals for the game.
“Their (Syracuse) length is like a sledge hammer.” Lallathin said. “As much as we work in practice against the zone, there is no way to simulate their length. It kind of hit our guys hard at first, but in the first half, we guarded very well.”
KSU only managed to put in 16 points in the first half, but the undersized Owl defense was able to hold Syracuse to 36 points. Coming out of intermission KSU’s offense began to pick up steam.
“In the second half we kind of settled down a little,” Lallathin said. “We had more ball movement we started attacking the paint.”
Nigel Pruitt sunk three 3-pointers and led the Owls with 11 points. Senior Delbert Love also netted a pair of three’s and finished with eight points, matching Wilson’s and Orlando Coleman’s game-total. KSU scored 26 points in the second half and recorded nine assists.
Junior Willy Kouassi had seven rebounds, four points and a blocked shot, but early foul trouble forced the 6-foot-10 center to sit out most of the first half. With Kouassi on the bench, the Owls had trouble matching with the Orange’s significantly taller roster.
KSU’s two true freshmen Nick Masterson and Justin Diecker got their first taste of college basketball against the nationally ranked Orange. Masterson was part of the Owls’ starting five, along with Yonel Bown, Wilson, Coleman and Kouassi. “Our freshmen got baptized by one of the best defenses in the country,” Lallathin said.
Neither newcomer etched their first points of their KSU career, but Masterson dished out a pair of assists while Diecker played 12 minutes of tough basketball against the stout Syracuse bigs.
KSU’s Nate Rucker did not appear against the Orange due to injury but Lallathin stated he should be back on Wednesday to play Mercer in Macon, Georgia. Rucker’s return should allow for more balance among KSU’s big-man rotation.
After playing Cal on Sunday, the Owls return to the Peach State briefly to take on former Atlantic Sun Conference rival Mercer Wednesday night in Macon at 7 p.m. “I don’t think we’re going to look like were going to look in A-Sun play because everything is new,” Lallathin said. “But we will play someone who looks more like us. When we break out and we truly get it, we’re going to be there and I don’t care who is on the other side of the floor.”
The Owls will then head to Fargo, North Dakota to play North Dakota State Friday Nov. 21.
