Kennesaw State came back from 10 points down near the midway point of the second half to defeat Sam Houston 75-69 in overtime Thursday at the KSU Convocation Center. Adrian Wooley led the way with 25 points and nine rebounds, while Simeon Cottle had 19 points, including seven in overtime. Braeden Lue posted the first double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Antoine Pettway said his Owls (10-7, 2-2) have started to come of age as they head into the meat of their Conference USA schedule.
“I told them, if they were looking for a pretty game tonight, they were looking in the wrong place,” Pettway said about facing the defending CUSA regular-season champion. “It was going to be a tough, hard-nosed, gritty game. Our guys grew up a lot tonight.” The one who may have shown the most growth was Lue. Already a presence the team’s leading rebounder, the 6-foot-8 freshman from Alexander High School in Douglasville showed a more aggressive approach on the offensive end. He found ways to get easy baskets and finish at the rim, including a couple of dunks that changed momentum at various points during the game. “I learned I don’t have to have half of my shots come from the 3-point line,” Lue said. “I’m learning to take advantage of my size, and I’m making smarter decisions.”
It was a game Pettway knew Lue was poised for. “He’s a pleaser,” Pettway said. “He’s a sponge – anything you tell him to do. Braeden grew up tonight. He’s finishing with dunks and he’s that important guy in the paint. This is what we put all that work in for.” Lue played some of his best minutes during overtime. Cottle connected on his only 3-pointer of the night to put Kennesaw State up 65-64. The next trip down the floor, Lue grabbed a big offensive rebound off a missed free throw and was fouled going back up for a shot. He made both free throws to push the Owls’ lead to three. Moments later, Cottle hit Lue in stride for a driving layup to put Kennesaw State up for good at 71-69.
“When (Lue) comes out aggressive like that, it shows we’ve been working on our craft,” Wooley said. “When he does that, it makes everything easier.” Not a lot seemed easy through the 40 minutes of regulation. Neither team shot the ball well amid a combination of good defense and players missing open looks. Kennesaw State had its second straight cold night from behind the arc, where it was just 3-of-26 (11.5%) for the game and is just 11-of-67 (16%) over its last two games. The Owls shot 25-of-65 (38.5%) from the field against Sam Houston (8-10, 1-4), while the Bearkats were limited to 21-of-69 (30.4%). Trailing 48-38 with 12:38 to play in regulation, Lue started the Owls’ comeback with a short jumper and a layup to cut the deficit to six. It was part of an 11-0 run that allowed Kennesaw State to reclaim the lead with 7 minutes to play in regulation.
Leave a Reply