The Owls split their final two game Conference USA road trip, falling to Florida International 76-61 and defeating Liberty 85-80.
In the first leg of their trip, a slow start put the Owls in a 34-24 halftime hole against the Panthers.
Kennesaw State drew within five points early the second period, but never closer.
FIU’s Ashton Williamson, Jayden Brewer and Dashon Gittens each finished in double figures to combine for 41 points to lead the last place Panthers to victory.
Owls freshman phenom Adrian Wooley stayed hot, finishing the game with 20 points on an efficient 6-12 shooting from the field. Simeon Cottle had 14 points, and Ricardo Wright had 10 points off the bench to join him in double figures.
20 turnovers and a poor 5-22 shooting mark from three hindered the Owls, while the Panthers shot 40% from beyond the arc and turned the ball over 14 times.
KSU rebounded less than 72 hours later, taking down first place Liberty in Lynchburg for the first time in program history on Sunday.
The Owls came out of the gate sluggish, falling into an early 10-0 deficit.
KSU chipped away at the lead for the next fifteen minutes, and a Cottle three with just seconds left in the half cut the deficit to 44-39 at the break.
“We just had to settle into the game,” Owls coach Antoine Pettway said in an interview with KSU Athletics. “If you go back and look at it, we got some really good looks, they just didn’t fall. We got to the timeout and I told the guys no retreat. We’re not backing down, we’re here to fight, we’re here to win this game.”
The Owls took the lead at 45-44, thanks to back-to-back threes from Wooley and Cottle to open the second half.
KSU’s offense stayed hot enough to build a lead as large as 67-53 after a Frankquon Sherman layup at the 10:11 mark.
The Flames roared back and drew within a point at 76-75 at the 2:02 mark, but never took the lead back.
Up 83-80 with 10 seconds remaining, Wright hit a pair of free throws to seal the 85-80 victory over the first place Flames.
The Owls limited their turnovers to just 11, and shot a much better 11-29 from three.
Cottle posted one of his best outings this season, leading all scorers with 24 points on 9-16 shooting, including a 4-8 clip from three.
Wooley finished right behind Cottle with 22 points to go along with seven rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Wooley received his 10th CUSA Freshman of the Week honor last week, and positioned himself to become the first player to receive the award for the 11th time in the league’s history.
Braeden Lue played a significant role on offense for the Owls, ending the outing with 13 points on 5-7 shooting including a timely put back dunk that pushed the Owls’ lead back to two possessions late in the game.
KSU sits in fifth in the CUSA standings, with just one game remaining on its regular season schedule against Jacksonville State on Saturday.
