The Owls secured their second highest season win total in the program’s NCAA Division-I history with an 83-73 win over UTEP on Thursday at the Convocation Center
UTEP (17-9, 7-6) has been the only Conference USA opponent this season to hold Kennesaw State (16-11, 8-6) guard Adrian Wooley to single figures scoring this season when they allowed him just seven on Jan. 25.
Thursday was a different story.
Wooley scored 21 points, shooting an efficient 4-7 from beyond the three point line while also contributing seven assists and five rebounds.
“I adjusted to what they did to me last game to this game and I feel like it worked out perfectly,” Wooley said. “I got off the ball more, played a lot of off ball. I’d say I got my teammates involved way more and I’m just proud of myself for that.”
The Owls came out of the gates hot, jumping out to a 17-6 lead in the first five minutes, converting their first seven field goals. Jamil Miller threw down a one handed alley-oop dunk off of a Simeon Cottle lob that ignited the Convocation Center crowd and social media.
The Miners responded, cutting their deficit to 23-18 three minutes later largely in part to scores from guard Corey Camper Jr.
KSU retook a double-digit lead quickly after going on an 8-0 run out of a timeout, featuring three pointers from Braeden Lue and Frankquon Sherman.
The Owls cruised into half with a 47-33 lead, with Lue leading all scorers with 11 points in the period.
A Wooley three pointer at the 16:44 mark in the second half swelled KSU’s lead to the largest it got all night at 56-37.
UTEP didn’t go out quietly however, battling back within 10 points thanks to a 15-6 run to make the score 62-52 with 12:49 to play.
The Miners drew within as close as 71-65 at the 6:04 mark, but never got closer.
The Owls made 7-9 free throws in the final five minutes to close out the Miners, taking a 83-73 victory to move squarely into fourth in the CUSA standings.
The win also marks only the second time KSU men’s basketball has eclipsed 16 wins since transitioning to D-I in 2006.
“We building something,” Owls coach Antoine Pettway said. “Last year we got really close (to 16 wins), this year we’re trying to knock that door down. We just going to continue to get better. We got picked 10th (in the preseason CUSA poll) because we’re going against these Conference USA programs that are established and that have a lot of of tradition. What I love about our guys, there’s no backdown, there’s no retreat – no regrets.”
UTEP’s leading scorer Otis Frazier III, who scored 17 points in his last outing against KSU was held to just three on Thursday night.
“We just challenged our guys,” Pettway said. “He hurt us (last time we played UTEP). With us playing everybody twice now, we we’re able to get the clip from when he scored on us and we sat there and we watched it. I told (the team) we got to have great positioning, heavy chest, active hands and we got to keep the ball off of him as much as possible.”
Lue rebounded after a stretch of underwhelming offensive performances to finish with 18 points, finishing 4-7 from three.
Sherman stayed hot on both ends, finishing with 13 points and two steals and converting 8-10 free throws.
“Frankquon comes in and I tell him, everything he touches he just makes better,” Pettway said. “That’s from the classroom, that’s from the dorm over there. When he’s on campus, we’re no different. He comes in the game and it’s a luxury to have a guy on the bench you can bring in the game and there’s no drop off.”
