The Owls hit the loss column for the first time in the young conference season.
Men’s basketball was unable to build on its 3-0 start to conference play, falling 84-75 to the North Florida Ospreys on Thursday, Jan. 18 in Jacksonville, FL.
In a game advertised as a battle of high-tempo teams at the top of the ASUN standings, the Owls were unable to steal a win in Jacksonville on Thursday night.
While Simeon Cottle led the way with an outstanding 25 points for Kennesaw State, it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the high-flying Ospreys’ offense.
Things started fast for UNF as they jumped out to a 21-10 lead to force an Owls’ timeout to stop the bleeding just over seven minutes into the game.
The Osprey lead would swell to as big as 38-25 before a scoring run led by Cottle and senior Guard Quincy Ademekoya, whobrought the Owls back to within three points sending KSU to the break trailing 38-35.
While both sides traded scores early in the half, UNF was able to create separation and never allowed the Owls back within one possession after taking a 45-41 lead at the 16 minute mark.
Although it looked like UNF was going to make things ugly after capturing another double-digit lead at 71-60, Cottle was able to rally off seven straight points on his own to get the Owls back within striking distance.
However, the late ditch effort would not be enough as the Ospreys held on to end the night with an 84-75 victory.
While Cottle stole the show for KSU in the stat sheet, the Owls also saw strong performances from Ademekoya, Jamel King and freshman RJ Johnson who all would finish the game in double-figures.
Owls fifth-year senior and star Point Guard Terrell Burden was subbed out with an apparent injury with 8:44 to play and would not return to the game. Burden finished his abbreviated night with just two points on two field goal attempts in 19 minutes.
Guard Chaz Lanier continued his all-conference caliber season for the Ospreys.
Lanier scored 25 points while dishing out four assists and corralling six rebounds. Lanier’s backcourt co-star Dorian James also stepped up for UNF with 12 points and four rebounds of his own—while not missing a single shot from the floor.
This is not the only meeting on the schedule for these two teams. The Owls will get home-court advantage and a chance for revenge when North Florida makes the trip up to the KSU Convocation Center on Friday, Feb. 16.
The loss drops KSU to an overall record of 12-6 and a conference record of 3-1, good enough for a tie for second place in the ASUN standings with Stetson and UNF. Eastern Kentucky sits alone at the top with a 4-0 record.
