Kennesaw State Men’s Basketball remains the hottest topic in Owl’s sports as the team defeated Austin Peay 84-57 on Thursday, Jan. 26 and Lipscomb 85-72 on Saturday, Jan. 28.
The Owls returned home to the Convocation Center this week to take on the Austin Peay Governors and the Lipscomb Bisons. Boasting a 15-6 record overall, including a 6-1 conference record, KSU came into the week looking to keep pace with the Liberty Flames atop the ASUN standings.
The Owls started off the homestand with a dominant 84-57 win against Austin Peay Thursday, Jan. 26. In a game where KSU never trailed, Chris Youngblood was able to score 19 points, complemented by 15 points and 10 rebound double-double from Senior Forward Demond Robinson.
The Owls entered the game knowing they would have to adjust for a significant height disadvantage.
“We play four guards, so with an untraditional lineup, there has to be a certain grit and toughness that you play with, your mindset, you have to play more physical, and tonight we did a great job to get 50 rebounds, 14 offensive rebounds, and for Brandon Stroud, 13 points, 11 rebounds but four offensive rebounds, it doesn’t get better than that,” Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said. “We might play teams taller than us, but I like our heart, our toughness, and our grit.”
Before the game, Youngblood was honored at mid-court by KSU Athletic Director, Milton Overton, for reaching the 1000 career point mark.
Saturday night saw the Owls defeat Lipscomb 85-72, led by Guard Kasen Jennings, who scored 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting.
“I feel like our connection is at an all-time high this year,“ Jennings said. “So us winning is something we expected, but there’s more work to do.” the Junior added.
The win over Lipscomb was the first against the Bisons under Coach Abdur-Rahim and the first since the 2016-17 season.
“That’s a good program, I think Coach Acuff is one of the best in the country and they have a really good program.” Coach Abdur-Rahim said when asked about the 12-game losing streak against the Bisons. “But our program in these last three years, we were building to get to this point where we are at now.”
Coach Abdur-Rahim continued, “Everything that was done in the last three years is a big part of our DNA because we grew up, but this team is the first team.”
“This team is the first one that Kennesaw State is about and will be for years to come. So that losing streak never really crept into our minds, it was about getting better with getting the win tonight.” Coach Abdur-Rahim stated.
The Owls never relinquished a double-digit lead in the second half largely in part due to Senior Point Guard Terrell Burden overcoming a slow shooting start, and finishing with 18 points.
KSU will prepare for a road trip to Kentucky this weekend to take on Bellarmine Knights on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
