Photo by: Kai Millette
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Kennesaw State men’s basketball punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four seasons, outlasting Louisiana Tech 71-60 in the Conference USA championship game on Saturday at Propst Arena.
Four-year walk-ons and the last remaining Owls from KSU’s 2022-23 ASUN championship season, Charles Stone and Eric Holland Jr. checked into the game to a standing ovation for the final 3.8 seconds of the game that served as the punctuation of a season filled with adversity.
KSU lost expected starter Davin Cosby to injuries sustained in a car accident prior to the start of the season, leading scorer and preseason CUSA Player of the Year Simeon Cottle due to his involvement in a national sports betting scandal and found themselves down to as few as seven healthy scholarship players by late February.
“I wanted [this team] to really feel like a real brotherhood,” Pettway said. “These dudes really love each other. And adversity is something that’s going to teach them about manhood.”
A tightly contested first half featured five ties and seven lead changes while both teams struggled offensively from beyond the 3-point line. The Bulldogs were particularly poor from deep, shooting 0-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes but remained within striking distance trailing 35-32 at the break.
Owls guard Jaden Harris, who was a late addition to the roster following Cosby’s injuries, led all scorers at the break with eight points and would finish with a game-high of 18 points.
“He’s been tremendous,” Pettway said. “He started the year with a back problem and wasn’t really in the rotation and then we had a situation where he had to be called upon to play major minutes – he’s had success because he’s all about his brothers, all about his teammates.”
KSU never trailed in the second half and were led by freshman Amir Taylor who scored 10 points in the second half to finish with 17 on the night.
Point guard RJ Johnson, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, posted a well-rounded evening of 13 points, six rebounds and four assists.
The Bulldogs’ struggles from beyond the arc persisted throughout the night, finishing the game 2-of-28 from deep.
“We challenged them [on the perimeter],” Pettway said. “I told RJ, I want you to challenge them. Pick up point has got to start with him and then we just put an emphasis on guarding the three-point line tonight. We knew we had to step up to the challenge of guarding the three-point line and all our guys took on the challenge and did a great job.”
The win sends the Owls to their first NCAA Tournament since the 2022-23 season, in which the late Amir Abdur-Rahim led the program to its first winning season and conference championship in its NCAA Division I era.
“It feels good, I’ve never won anything meaningful,” Johnson said. “So to me, it means a lot, it feels good.”
Pettway and his group are set to find out their first-round matchup and where they’re headed on Sunday at 6 p.m.
