A record-breaking crowd witnessed a historic evening as the Kennesaw State Men’s Basketball team brought home their first ASUN championship against the Liberty Flames on Sunday, March 5.
Fans crowded the KSU Convocation Center in the monumental game recording a total of 3,805 attendees. The support did not end there as Owls also had the option of tuning into the first nationally televised programming at the KSU Convocation Center on ESPN2.
In their way stood the Liberty Flames, boasting an impressive 26-7 overall record and led by two-time ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee.
In their only previous matchup this season, the Owls were able to tame the Flames 88-81 on Feb. 16 in front of an at-the-time season-high crowd.
Despite the Owls jumping out to an early 15-6 edge, the teams would play tug-of-war with the lead throughout the first half. Liberty would take a 29-27 advantage into the halftime locker room.
The second half would continue the same back-and-forth trend, with neither team building a lead larger than eight points.
Although leading scorer Chris Youngblood struggled in the first half shooting an unsettling 0/5, he would bounce back in the second half with 12 points on 4/6 shooting.
Youngblood credited Head Coach and ASUN Conference Coach of the Year Amir Abdur-Rhaim for his ability to maintain confidence to bounce back in the second half.
“This man beside me, I feel like he can read my mind sometimes,” Youngblood said. “He always knows exactly what’s going on, so just listening to him and trusting him and continuing to trust my teammates.”
With under two minutes to play, the Owls watched a five-point cushion evaporate after Liberty’s Colin Porter hit an impressive step-back three-pointer to knot the game up at 66-66.
With 23 seconds remaining in regulation, the Owls entrusted Senior Point Guard Terrell Burden to take the final shot. Burden drove to the hoop and drew a foul with 0.7 seconds on the clock.
Burden hit one of two foul shots to give the Owls the win after Liberty was unable to get off a final attempt before the buzzer, sealing the game with a score of 67-66.
The win marks KSU’s first-ever ASUN Tournament championship and earns the Owls an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in the school’s Division I era.
“We have administration here that is aligned with our vision and what we do,” Coach Abdur-Rahim said. “It means a lot because we’re able to enhance our university and we enhance our community, when our community is enhanced, everybody wins from it.”
The Owls have begun to build national attention due to their unbelievable turnaround since the 2019-20 season, in which they posted an abysmal 1-28 record. Since then, the Owls have steadily improved their win total every year, culminating in the championship season that has been 2022-23.
The Owls will have a full week of rest before the full NCAA Tournament Bracket is released on Sunday, March 12. According to the majority of expert predictions, including Joe Lunardi of ESPN, the Owls will likely hold a 14 or 15 seed to begin March Madness.
Kennesaw State will return to action in tournament play on either Thursday, March 16 or Friday, March 17, depending on bracket placement.
