#21 Jaden Harris drives the line at VyStar Arena on Feb. 28 in a game against Delaware. Photo by: Jackson Louneoubonh
Jaden Harris made the most of his final home game as an Owl with a 22-point showing as men’s basketball defeated Delaware 90-82 on senior night Saturday at VyStar Arena.
A late addition to this season’s roster following a preseason season-ending injury to Davin Cosby, Harris has had himself an interesting season.
The indefinite suspension of Simeon Cottle in January meant Harris needed to be inserted into the rotation, and in his final game at VyStar Arena the New Mexico State transfer put his ability on full display.
“It’s been a crazy ride,” Harris said. “Just, not knowing where I was going to go before the season to now with all this stuff happening. But man, it just felt good — it was really fun.”
Harris scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half as Kennesaw State dominated the short-handed Blue Hens throughout the first 20 minutes, taking a 50-25 lead to halftime.
As foul trouble mounted for Delaware in the second half, the Hens somehow managed to chip away at the Owls’ lead.
Coming into the game with just six healthy scholarship players — eight total players — Delaware found itself down playing walk-ons Alex McFadden and Brandon Baffone in the second half.
And still, the Hens drew within single digits down the stretch, but never closer than eight points in the final 20 minutes.
“We lost intensity defensively [in the second half],” Owls coach Antoine Pettway said. “Coming in, the game plan was I didn’t want [Christian] Bliss or [Justyn] Fernandez to beat us, so we trapped them off the ball screen. We normally blitz, but I told them we’re going to trap them until they give it up.”
With 46 seconds remaining, senior walk-ons Charles Stone and EJ Holland checked into the game and were welcomed by a loud ovation from the crowd.
The two are the final players who remain with the team from the program’s lone NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2022-23 season.
“Those two young men are two of the best young men I’ve ever been around in my whole coaching career,” Pettway said. “They just show up every single day, get no glory and they’re just all about their brothers. They’ve been with me since day one. I absolutely love them, love their families, and I’m proud to have them on my basketball team.”
Harris and forward Perry Smith Jr. were also honored as seniors.
Frankquon Sherman was second in scoring for the Owls, finishing with 15 points to go along with 14 rebounds, his 10th double-double of his career and his fifth this season.
RJ Johnson had 13 points and Trey Simpson had 11 points to finish in double figures while, Braeden Lue and Amir Taylor joined them with 10 points each.
The victory secured back-to-back seasons with at least 10 conference wins for KSU for the first time since the program made the transition to Division I.
With a road trip out west to face UTEP and New Mexico State on the schedule next week, the Owls sit at fourth in the Conference USA standings. A poor week could have the Owls finish as low as seventh, while a good one could catapult them as high as third.
