#0 Jacoby Hill directing his teammates on the play, Nov. 10, 2026 at VyStar Arena. Photo by Jackson Louneoubonh
Kennesaw State men’s basketball closed its opening homestand with a 107-54 domination of LaGrange College on Thursday at VyStar Arena, improving to 4-0 for the first time since 2004.
The Owls overcame their third straight slow start and went on an 11-0 run in the first half following a 9-6 deficit three minutes into the game.
Heading into a test against Southeastern Conference opponent Alabama, KSU coach Antoine Pettway said he wants his team to turn it up another notch before making the trip to Tuscaloosa.
“I think all the guys agreed we got a whole ‘nother level we can get to to beat the team we’re getting ready to face,” he said. “We’re gonna come back in on Saturday, clean things up and try to get better.”
After steadily increasing their lead further and further, the Owls finished the first half on a 12-3 run and took a 53-28 lead to the locker room.
The lead for KSU continued to climb in the second half as it took advantage of some mismatches with Panthers’ defenders and attacked the paint and drew fouls.
The Owls finished with 56 points in the paint and 24 more points off of made free throws, shooting a much improved 70.6% from the line.
Following a bit of a struggle to begin the year, Trey Simpson led KSU in scoring on Thursday with 16 points and also added 10 rebounds, his first double-double since the game against Point University a year ago to the day.
“It was so good to see,” Pettway said. “We’ve been talking to him and meeting with him, and to his credit he’s never waivered. I got a text late Tuesday night after the game (against Winthrop), just saying ‘Coach, I’m going to give you everything I got’.
He’s always been consistent talking about being a part of something bigger than himself. I’m just super, super happy for him because he deserves it.”
Amir Taylor and Kyler Theophile finished closely behind, each with 14 points.
Keriawn Berry didn’t play for very long, but he was still able to make a big impact. He finished with 12 points and was 3-for-4 from three-point range in just over nine minutes on the floor.
Late in the second half, Antwane Daniels scored an emphatic dunk over a LaGrange defender, causing the home fans to erupt in approval.
“Every single game (Daniels) plays, he just screams ‘Coach, I need to be out there in some form or fashion,’ Pettway said. “I love how he plays. When you get the right dudes on the ship, you got a chance to be successful.”
The Owls will go to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday and look to pull off an upset against Alabama and improve to 5-0. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
