PHOTO BY: ERIN CATER
The Owls earned their first win over an AP-ranked opponent in program history over Rutgers 79-77 on Sunday at the Convocation Center.
With 8.3 seconds left on the clock, Owls guard Delany Heard missed a pair of free throws that would have effectively put the game out of reach. Projected NBA lottery draft pick and Cobb County’s McEachern High School alumnus Ace Bailey brought the ball down the court with a chance to win or tie the game. Bailey’s long pass was stolen by Owls’ freshman Adrian Wooley, who dribbled out the clock and sealed an Owls win.
An announced 3,805 people crowded into the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon to watch Kennesaw State pull the historic upset over the 24th-ranked Scarlet Knights. It was the second time a high-major program has played at Kennesaw State, and the first since the Owls defeated Georgia Tech 80-63 in 2010.
Freshman Jamil Miller led the Owls with 16 points and 10 rebounds on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting. It was the first double-double of his career.
“It’s super valuable (to play Rutgers) to me,” Miller said. “I’ve been working for this my whole life so to get on a stage like this to showcase my talent in front of everybody, I’m just thankful.”
After falling into a 9-4 hole to begin the game, the first half could not have gone much better for the Owls. KSU controlled both sides of the ball, going on a 29-9 run to take a 44-24 lead late in the first half.
“We got to figure out how to play 40 minutes, especially when we’re on the road,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell said. “We didn’t do a good job of that. It’s always on the coach. I didn’t send out enough warning signals to our guys about going on the road in tough environments.”
After trailing 44-26 at the break, Rutgers got straight to work in the second half. The Scarlet Knights started the period on a 10-3 run and would consistently chip away the at the deficit.
With 7:34 to play, the Knights drew within five for the first time since halfway through the first half at 65-60.
The Owls clung to their narrow lead the rest of the way. After Bailey’s turnover, KSU secured the victory and its first 5-1 start in Division-I program history.
“(I was preaching) stay with it, take care of the ball, and we got to get great shots every single time,” Owls coach Antoine Pettway said. “I kind of screwed us up a little bit because I slowed us down and stopped running our pace and playing our type of ballgame, but I wanted to manage the possessions.”
Simeon Cottle and Ricardo Wright each showed up big in the stat sheet, combining for 29 points while Wooley continued his double-figure streak with 10 points.
For Rutgers, Bailey scored 17 points in his homecoming game and fellow freshman Dylan Harper tallied 21 points and nine assists.
