KSU’s #5 Simeon Cottle dribbling a basketball. October 26th, 2025. Photo Credit: Jackson Louneoubonh
RJ Johnson made his return to the court as Kennesaw State men’s basketball toppled West Georgia 86-73 in a preseason exhibition at VyStar Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Kennesaw State returned to the court in front of spectators for the first time since March, showcasing several newcomers to a crowd of 1,066 fans.
The Owls jumped out to a 23-4 lead behind hot starts from freshman Trey Simpson and senior Simeon Cottle. The game would never really be in question again, as West Georgia was unable to pull within less than 10 the rest of the way.
RJ Johnson, who missed the entirety of last season with an injury, starred in his return on Sunday with 17 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Additionally, the redshirt sophomore added six assists and four rebounds.
“It felt pretty good just to be able to get back in the flow,” Johnson said. “Having that break for almost two years gave me that time to grow my game without being out there physically. I grew in the mental part of the game. Being out there with my teammates after working all summer, it felt pretty good.”
Four freshmen played significant minutes for the Owls, with Simpson and Amir Taylor shining the most.
Simpson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds on 4-for-11 shooting, while Taylor posted a line of six points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes.
“(The freshmen) are as talented as anybody,” Owls coach Antoine Pettway said. “Trey Simpson, he came in and gave a big boost, made a couple threes. We got to get him to start finishing a little bit more in transition and converting those transition opportunities, but I’m proud of him. Amir, the same thing — [he] comes in and rebounds the ball and plays the right way. I’m excited to see the future with those two guys right there.”
Kaden Rickard and Darius Washington III also played significant minutes in the game, but weren’t as impressive.
Washington III shot 1-of-3 from the field, but converted all three of his free throw attempts to finish with five points to go along with five rebounds.
Rickard didn’t convert a field goal, ending the day with one point on 0-of-2 shooting.
Cottle, the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year. lived up to his billing, leading the team with 19 points behind five 3-pointers.
The Owls were outscored by the Wolves 49-43 in the second half, leaving Pettway displeased with his team’s defensive effort.
“I didn’t like our effort tonight,” Pettway said. “[UWG], they were down some starters. They still were able to shoot 60% in the second half. That’s not a staple of who we are. We only had three offensive rebounds in the first half, now we did much better in the second half, but I didn’t think we had the effort, I didn’t think we had the attention to detail that we needed to be a successful team this year.”
UWG’s Shelton Williams-Dryden led all scorers with 22 points.
KSU will open its regular season at home on Nov. 3 against Paine College.
