Owls Flying High: A Promotion / Relegation Dynasty

[jksander]

January 23, 2021
Kennesaw State (5-12, 1-5) @ North Dakota (10-7, 3-3)

Only Bryant (3-14, 0-6) keeps us out of last place as we take the long flight to North Dakota to face off against the Hawks. But we came out hot, scoring seven points unanswered in the first 80 seconds, and with 15:55 to play we led 10-4. Unfortunately our hot-hand cooled and with 11:43 remaining we held a one point lead, up 18-17 on the Hawks. We lost our lead for the first time with 7:54 to play but were tied up again 27-27 with 4:38 left in the half. Granberry, off the bench, put us up 35-34 with a fast-break two with 80 seconds left in the half, and a Jim Cullen triple put us back on top again 38-36 with :26 remaining. A Griffin Cooper three at the buzzer sent us into the break with a five point lead. Halftime: Kennesaw State 41, North Dakota 36.

We flirted with running away with the game early in the second half, but with 13:28 to go we held a 51-46 lead that felt far from secure. Michael Tyler hit a three to make it 56-50 with 11:33 left in the game, but North Dakota stayed in it, taking the lead back 56-57 with 9:34 on the clock. They tried to open things up, but a Roach three kept us within one two minutes later, down 59-60, and Shane Ross put us back ahead 64-63 with seven minutes left. Then the bottom dropped out. North Dakota went on a 9-0 run to take the biggest lead either team had held the entire night, and our tank was empty. We'd go on to lose this one too, 70-82, our fifth loss in a row, and our ninth in the last ten games.

With this loss, and Bryant's 84-83 win against North Alabama, we now are tied for last in the conference with the Bulldogs.

Player of the Game: Chris Snyder (13 pts 5 reb 2 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Shane Ross (10 pts 4 reb 1 ast 3 blk) Larue Ragin (9 pts 4 reb 2 ast 1 blk)

[jksander]

January 26, 2021
Kennesaw State (5-13, 1-6) @ SIU Edwardsville (9-9, 5-2)

We played well enough in the first half to stay close, allowing us to take a surprising 20-19 lead with 5:57 to go thanks to a dunk by Shane Ross. Kareem Roach followed with a deuce to make it a three-point lead, and with 3:43 to go we were knotted 26-26. Michael Tyler nailed a three at the buzzer that finally broke the tie, stunning the hometown crowd. Halftime: Kennesaw State 33, SIU Edwardsville 30.

We had to fight for everything we got in the second half but were in a 39-39 tie with the Cougars with 13:36 to go in the game. They built a six point lead and then we ate it away, retying the game 47-47 with 8:07 remaining. Nick Granberry put us up 50-49 with 6:32 on the clock, and a Manley three made it 53-52 as the battle intensified. We buckled down this time and were able to extend the lead to 60-55 with just over four minutes to play, but a 6-2 Cougar run cut our lead to a point, 62-61 with under three minutes left. They iced us completely from there, scoring the last seven points of the game and we had no answers at all. Another loss, 62-68.

Player of the Game: Kareem Roach (15 pts 8 reb 3 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Shane Ross (10 pts 8 reb 1 ast 2 stl 1 blk) Brandon Manley (11 pts 2 reb 1 ast)[/img]

[PointGuard]

It can be long lonely road during the early times of a coaching career.

[jksander]

It can be long lonely road during the early times of a coaching career.

You said it, PG

- - - - -

January 30, 2021
Abilene Christian (6-13, 4-4) @ Kennesaw State (5-14, 1-7)

Bryant picked up another win, so we're now alone in last place heading into the season's home-stretch. With only four games left at home, all of them count. We were as fired up as ever coming out of the gate, but found ourselves mired in another back and forth affair against a team that has been hot in the conference while we've been stagnant. We managed to build a 22-17 lead with 9:07 to go in the half, and though had led by as many as 14 down the stretch, we went into the half struggling to hold onto our own momentum, up eight. Halftime: Abilene Christian 34, Kennesaw State 42.

We fought hard to take this game out of ACU's reach, and though for much of the half it remained within a pair of possessions, we extended our lead back to ten with 11:12 to play, up 60-50. But we weren't able to break it wide, they seemed like they were always ready for our next move. With 8:38 to go we led 66-57, and we held our ground from there. Up 74-62 with 3:50 left on the clock, this time we never let them back in the door and we pulled out the win 84-73.

Player of the Game: Chris Snyder (31 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 stl 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Kareem Roach (12 pts 8 reb 1 stl 1 blk) Larue Ragin (13 pts 2 reb)

[jksander]

February 2, 2021
Kennesaw State (6-14, 2-7) @ California Baptist (7-13, 4-5)

We built a 7-3 lead in the first three minutes and still held a tenuous 11-9 advantage with 15:18 to go, spurred on by our win earlier this week. And while Cal Baptist tried to find a way to make this a cutthroat battle, we extended our lead to five, up 21-16, after a few quick lead changes. They stayed in it, however, and with 10:33 to go in the half we were knotted 22-22. We traded baskets from there for several minutes, but then Cal Baptist built themselves a lead of their own, up 35-40 on us with 2:44 to go in the half. We held our own, however, and would go into the break trailing only by a point thanks to a last-second fast-break basket by Cherry. Halftime: Kennesaw State 44, California Baptist 45.

Damion Christie hit a sweet triple with 17:22 to go in the game, putting us back ahead 51-50. And with another triple, this time three minutes later by Chris Snyder, we increased our lead to six, our biggest of the game. The game stayed close, however, and with just 10:11 to play we held just a three-point 62-59 advantage. But the pendulum swung in the other direction as Cal Baptist took control, building a solid 66-74 lead on us with just 4:28 remaining. We stayed within a couple possessions from there but weren't able to muster enough gas to cross the line, losing this one 80-85.

Player of the Game: Larue Ragin (12 pts 7 reb 2 ast 1 stl 3 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Chris Snyer (15 pts 4 reb 3 ast) Brandon Manley (15 pts 4 reb 4 ast 1 stl)

[jksander]

February 6, 2021
Bryant (7-14, 4-6) @ Kennesaw State (6-15, 2-8)

The story of a season in a four minute span … up 8-2 on Bryant with 17:58 to play, tied 8-8 with Bryant with 15:20 to play. It's been our lot all season. After a back and forth scare over the next minute and a half, we rebuilt our lead to 18-13 with eleven to play and heightened our focus. We led by ten with less than eight minutes to go, and by the half we should have been firmly in control. But with 3:48 to play in the half we were fighting back against a Bryant team which was suddenly breathing down our necks 26-29, and things were getting dicey. We crawled into halftime clinging to our lead and praying for a strong second-half start. Halftime: Bryant 27, Kennesaw State 33.

We flirted with disaster early as Bryant went on a 6-2 run to pull within a pair, but we held our ground at least. With 13:34 to play we led 43-37 and the fans who did decide to come out despite our record were hoping we'd get things nicely together. But this isn't the same Bryant team that was the last to get a win during the conference slate. They've won four games in short order and played like they wanted this to be their fifth, staying within a couple possessions no matter what we threw at them. With just 6:41 left we had a seven point 55-48 lead but were playing like we just wanted not to lose. Manley opened things up with a three that gave us a 10-point lead for the first time since midway through the first half, and that livened the crowd up. With 3:10 to go we'd pulled away 69-54, and we were able to coast our way from there to confirm the win 75-63.

Player of the Game: Brandon Manley (25 pts 3 reb 3 ast 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Damion Christie (10 pts 5 reb 3 stl 2 blk) Griffin Casper (9 pts 4 reb 2 stl)

[jksander]

February 9, 2021
North Alabama (4-18, 3-8) @ Kennesaw State (7-15, 3-8)

This one set up to be a bottom-two matchup in the conference and one of us was at least going to have a shot at not being rock bottom. We need the win badly, since our next opponent will be Longwood's Lancers on the road, and they're currently 13-9 (8-3) and in a three-way tie for first in the conference.

North Alabama drew first blood with a three in the opening seconds of the game, but we scored the next 11 at which point the game became a battle of the runs. With 14:35 to go in the half we led 11-10, at which point the lead changed a few times before we rebuilt our lead to five, up 22-17 with 9:31 to play. Yet with 4:14 to go we were again knotted 34-34 and it was becoming a shootout … not something we've been known to enjoy this year. Sure enough, North Alabama stumped us down the stretch and we found ourselves in a hole at the break. Halftime: North Alabama 45, Kennesaw State 37.

We struggled early to find our bearings, but Snyder pulled us within four with a solid triple, making it a 48-52 ballgame with 13:55 to play. But with six minutes to go in the game we were still in a ten point hole, down 59-69, and had not led since late in the first half. We battled back, shooting well and defending at our best level, and with 3:28 to go we were back to within a 65-69 margin. A pair of free throws made it 67-69 with 1:45 remaining, and Snyder buried a perfect jumper with 1:20 to go, making it a 69-72 game. Jim Cullen got a great shot in off the backboard with just a second left, pulling us within a point, but there was no time to get a foul off before the buzzer. We'd lose a rough one 71-72.

Player of the Game: Chris Snyder (22 pts 2 reb 6 ast)
Honorable Mention: Larue Ragin (19 pts 7 reb 2 ast)

[jksander]

February 13, 2021
Kennesaw State (7-16, 3-9) @ Longwood (14-9, 9-3)

It took two minutes for Longwood to score, and 5:56 for us to, as Damion Christie put up a deuce to make it 2-5 with 14:04 to go in what had been a staggeringly tough stretch to watch. Thankfully it didn't take nearly as long for Shane Ross, off the bench, to pull off a brilliant dunk and suddenly we were within a point, down 4-5 with 13:15 remaining. Of course Longwood woke up from there and we were in an 8-17 hole at the half's midpoint. From there a few flashes of brilliance kept us tantalizingly close but we were in a deep rut by halftime. Halftime: Kennesaw State 29, Longwood 38.

We opened the half on a 9-2 run but Longwood danced just out of our reach, 40-46 with 15:59 to go in the game. It never got closer. Longwood led 44-56 with 10:58 to go in the half and we were never in serious contention through the remainder, losing 64-81 in the end.

Player of the Game: Shane Ross (13 pts 2 reb)
Honorable Mentions: Kareem Roach (10 pts 7 reb 3 blk) Larue Ragin (9 pts 4 reb)

[jksander]

February 16, 2021
Presbyterian (8-16, 5-8) @ Kennesaw State (7-17, 3-10)

They beat us on the road, but we went into this afternoon's game knowing we had a rare chance at redemption in round two. But the Blue Hose kindly laughed and said to go **** ourselves as they gutted us 16-2 in the first eight minutes en route to am 18-37 halftime drubbing. I'd say there was a mass fan walkout at that point, but that would imply we had attracted masses of fans. Our psyches all bruised or broken by that point, we came out and went through the motions in the second half, losing this one badly 52-74.

Player of the Game: Brandon Manley (13 pts 3 reb 5 ast)
Honorable Mention: Chris Snyder (9 pts 6 reb 1 stl 1 blk)

[jksander]

February 20, 2021
Kennesaw State (7-18, 3-11) @ Incarnate Word (9-16, 6-8)

Incarnate Word dominated this one from the word “go,” shutting us down 11-22 in the first ten minutes on their way to a 30-42 halftime lead. They led by 20 midway through the second half as they would wind up smothering us 60-79.

Player of the Game: Kareem Roach (17 pts 5 reb 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Larue Ragin (10 pts 7 reb 1 ast 1 blk) Damion Christie (10 pts 3 reb 2 ast)