Kennesaw State led early, but was ultimately unable to overcome its shooting woes in a 78-59 loss on the road to NJIT on Saturday.
The Highlanders (14-11, 5-4) completed the season sweep of the Owls (7-18, 3-6), as KSU fell at home on Jan. 30 in its first matchup against the Atlantic Sun Conference newcomers. The loss dropped the Owls to an alarming 1-12 away from the Convocation Center.
“We didn’t shoot the ball well and we didn’t defend the ball well,” KSU head coach Al Skinner said. “We missed free throws. That’s obviously not a formula to win on the road. You can maybe win at home that way, but on the road you definitely can’t win that way.”
The Owls shot roughly 48 percent (13-27) from the field in the opening half, but they finished the game shooting 37.9 percent (22-58). Additionally, KSU left points at the charity stripe — shooting 12-26 from the free throw line.
Senior Yonel Brown led KSU offensively for the 10th time this season with 19 points. Redshirt junior Kendrick Ray joined Brown as the only Owls in double digits with 12 points, adding seven rebounds and four assists.
The Highlanders showcased their dominance down low, outrebounding KSU 37-33 and outscoring the Owls 44-22 in the paint.
KSU struggled with foul trouble early on as Brown and Bernard Morena each recorded three personal fouls in the first half, while Ray and Kosta Jankovic each picked up two. The issue forced the Owls to adjust their game plan and play less aggressively.
“We didn’t do a good job of recognizing and executing our defensive game plan,” Skinner said. “We gave up a lot of opportunities. Every time we get in foul trouble in the first half, we suffer this way. That’s what happened (Saturday).”
In contrast of the previous meeting, in which NJIT never trailed, the Owls jumped out to an early lead.
Tied 8-apiece at the 16:00 mark in the opening half, Brown scored five unanswered points to give the Owls what would be their largest lead of the night with 14:47 to go. The Highlanders responded with a 10-1 run to take an 18-14 lead following a Ky Howard layup with 11:09 remaining in the half.
KSU would never regain the lead.
NJIT’s Chris Jenkins knocked down a three-point shot to extend the NJIT lead to 29-23 with 5:05 to go in the first half. A pair of free throws from Ray followed by a three-pointer from Nigel Pruitt cut the Owls’ deficit to 29-28 with 4:25 left. The momentum gained was short-lived, however, as the Highlanders executed another 10-1 run over a four minute span.
The Owls trailed 41-35 at the half.
NJIT continued its hot streak at the beginning of the second half, opening with a 10-4 run and extending its lead to 51-39 with 16:22 to go in the opening half. Trailing by 13 points with 11 minutes to go, KSU surrendered a 13-2 run and saw its deficit jump to 73-49 with 4:51 remaining in the game.
The Owls will return to the Convocation Center on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to take on North Florida. Having lost the previous 13 meetings, KSU will be in search of its first win over the Ospreys since Feb. 7, 2009, including a 93-78 defeat earlier this season.
