#4 Kaden Rickard, #11 RJ Johnson and #13 Braedan Lue on the floor at VyStar Arena on Dec. 6. Photo by Jackson Louneounbonh
Kennesaw State men’s basketball set a new points scored record in a 121-66 win over Southern Wesleyan despite an unusual weekday start time on Monday at VyStar Arena.
Like in KSU’s two prior games against non-NCAA Division I opponents, Monday’s game against a struggling Southern Wesleyan was never really in question.
The Owls jumped out to a 13-2 lead before the first media timeout, and never looked back.
At halftime, KSU had swelled its lead to a commanding 65-22, not at any point showing signs of letting up.
The Owls outscored the Warriors 56-44 in the second half, breaking the program’s single game point record since making the jump to D-I of 117 set against Carver College in 2021.
Despite facing an opponent out of its own depth in SWU, the Owls performance was impressive for the fact tip off was at noon on a Monday, an incredibly rare occurrence in college basketball outside of a handful of multi-team events.
“It’s a little different [playing in the morning],” KSU coach Antoine Pettway said. “But we practice in the morning anyway. When we practice, you walk in the Convo at 9:30 in the morning and we’re going so, I kind of flipped it like that and said I just delayed practice a couple hours. The guys showed a great level of maturity to come out [early].”
Freshman Trey Simpson set a career-high with 26 points to lead all scorers, finishing the day 10-of-16 from the floor while also adding eight rebounds and four steals.
Simeon Cottle was his usual productive self, finishing second on the team in scoring with 22 points while shooting 6-of-10 from beyond the three-point line, and tallying three steals.
A positive storyline for KSU was the nice offensive day for guard RJ Johnson, who had struggled in his previous outing, shooting 2-of-6 and turning the ball over four times against Georgia State on Saturday.
On Monday, Johnson shot 6-of-8 from the floor and scored 14 points, adding five assists and three steals.
“RJ is a really special player — I coach him so hard because I love him so much,” Pettway said. “He wants to be good so bad and I identify with that. He works. We were in the gym yesterday shooting free throws and he’s transformed his body, he’s doing everything we ask. He’s a guy you can easily cheer for — he has as much ability as anybody on our team.”
The Owls are set to face Pettway’s alma mater and former employer Alabama on Dec. 21, but will open Conference USA play even sooner when they travel to face Middle Tennessee on Dec. 17.
“I think our mental is in a great spot [heading into conference play],” Pettway said. “These guys are connected. Amir Taylor has stepped up when we’ve needed him to step up in the absence of Perry Smith Jr.. We’re praying for his family situation, but Amir Taylor is stepping up [and so is] Darius Washington III.”
