Students were treated to another home-win.
Kennesaw State men’s basketball is on a winning conference streak of 2-0 after they defeated the Stetson Hatters 88-70 on Jan. 10.
The team can attribute this win to a strong bench performance and a big night from Forward Demond Robinson, who scored 19 points and eight rebounds.
After defeating Queens to open its conference season, men’s basketball was able to replicate its success when first-place Stetson challenged the Owls’ home record of 23-1 since 2022.
Things started fast as the Owls gained an early 22-14 lead. They would maintain that lead throughout the first half, taking a 44-35 advantage to the locker room. This was significant after the Owls struggled to start halves strong in the past month.
“We needed to make sure we got off to the right start,” Head Coach Antoine Pettway said. “We did a better job tonight and we need to continue to do it against the rest of the conference.”
The second period yielded more of the same as Stetson continued to struggle on both ends.
Point Guard Terrell Burden was kept on the bench for a long stretch in the second half after picking up his third foul. Simeon Cottle and Jamel King would help pick up the lost production by combining for 25 points and 12 rebounds while playing excellent perimeter defense.
King broke out of a slump that saw him only convert a single field goal over a three-game stretch.
“The rim just felt huge tonight for me,” King said. “I really don’t care about scoring the ball, just having the mindset of coming out there and defending and playing for my brothers. That’s what I enjoy.”
For Stetson, Guard Jalen Blackmon continued his stellar season with 27 points to lead the Hatters. Josh Smith also had a nice night despite only logging 22 minutes. The senior forward accounted for 10 points to go along with six rebounds.
After the Owls had amassed their largest lead of the night at 88-66, walk-ons Charles Stone, Eric Holland and Matt Brown took the court to close out the game alongside seniors Cole Larue and Armani Harris. After two late Stetson field goals, the Owls would hold onto an 88-70 final score. Prior to the starters checking out of the game, the Owls had shot an astounding 83.3% from the field at 15-18.
Along with his strong offensive performance, Robinson came up big on the opposite end of the court, accounting for two blocked shots.
The win improves men’s basketball to 11-5 overall on the season and 2-0 in conference play.
The Owls will host the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. to close out their home-stand before hitting the road for their first road test against North Florida on Thursday, Jan. 18 in Jacksonville.
