Kennesaw State racked up another win against Stetson University in a fiercely competitive game on Senior Night, Feb. 23, ending the game with a final score of 75-71.
With the victory against Stetson, KSU clinched a first-round berth in the ASUN Conference Tournament. This means KSU will host its first-ever postseason game since becoming a Division I school.
In addition, this win allowed the Owls to garner their first sweep of an ASUN opponent this season. This is also the first ASUN opponent sweep KSU has gotten since the 2017-18 season against USC Upstate.
“Really proud of our team tonight—I think that game gave us every bit of adversity it could,” Head Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said. “They’ve done a great job this year of not breaking when things got tough and we finished strong tonight.”
The game proved to be an incredibly stiff, neck-and-neck battle with Stetson maintaining a lead nearly the whole first half. The Hatters scored nine of their 14 three-point attempts, leaving the Owls trailing early on.
At the end of the first half, Senior Guard Spencer Rogers suppressed the score gap with a successful buzzer-beater jumper. The score was 41-37 at halftime with KSU only down by four.
Returning from the half, KSU continued to persevere as the Hatters extended their lead further. Senior Isaiah Reddish of the Owls then scored a layup and a jumper. Reddish did not stop there, the guard tied up the score 70-70 with a flawless dunk.
The Owls’ defense soared amid the pressure of the final two minutes of the game. KSU held Stetson to 71 as they forced the Hatters’ two turnovers and a whopping five missed shots. KSU secured the win by scoring five out of their six attempted free throws at the end of the game.
“In this league, there are a bunch of good teams and Stetson shot really well in the first half,” Abdur-Rahim said. “Despite being down at the half, we came out with good energy and we did a great job in the final four minutes to not allow them any good looks, while our execution on the other end to get to the free-throw line and convert was big for us.”
KSU will face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in the ASUN Conference Tournament on Mar. 1 at 7 p.m in the KSU Convocation Center.
