KSU fell to rival Mercer 66-42 in Macon on Friday, Feb.
1 at the Hawkins Arena. The Owls were gunning for a season sweep of their Atlantic Sun Conference and in-state rival but they fell just short of that goal. Mercer hit the gas pedal around the middle of the way through the first half, outscoring KSU 14-4.
“Early in the game we did a good job of keeping the floor spread,” said KSU head coach Lewis Preston. “We kind of got away from that (keeping the floor spread) and we let the shot clock wind down…that put us in a bind.”
Three Mercer players finished in double figures with team leader Travis Smith scoring a game high of 18 points. KSU did not have any players in double figures. It was the first time this season that the Owls had not had at least one player reach double figures in a contest. Owls freshman forward Nigel Pruitt had nine points, five rebounds, and two assists.
“All four freshmen contributed positively,” Preston said.
Aaron Anderson controlled the glass for KSU bringing in 11 rebounds and scoring four points. The Owls struggled in the first period from the field shooting 25 percent (7 for 28). In the second period the Owls increased their shooting percentage to 27.8 percent (15 for 24). Mercer took advantage of KSU in the paint, outscoring the Owls 36-20.
“All four of our young have developed in a positive way we must continue to build on that Delbert has done a masterful job this year. He has taken on a vocal leadership role,” Preston said when asked about his team’s strengths in the game.
The team’s weakness was interior defense. This game was nothing like the one on Jan. 5 when the Owls topped Mercer 83-75. To open the Jan. 5 contest at the Convocation Center, KSU came out red hot to start the game shooting 5 for 5 from the field, which included 3 for 3 from three-point land. This strong effort from the Owls led them to a season high of nine three-pointers and they also shot a season best of 51.4 percent from the field.
The Owls are back on the hardwood Thursday night Feb. 7 for a contest against North Florida. Thy have eight regular season games remaining with four at home and four on the road. Coach Preston had this to say to the fans: “I just want to thank them for their continued support. I know this hasn’t been an easy stretch; at the same time I am excited about where we are taking this program.”
