In an important Atlantic Sun Conference game for both teams, the Owls (5-5, 1-1) could not keep up with a talented East Tennessee State team which dominated on both ends of the floor on its way to a 76-62 victory at the Convocation Center.
The Buccaneers (8-3, 2-0) used stifling defense and 11 points from Mike Smith to race to a 34-26 at the half. ETSU employed a man-to-man defense mixed with a full-court press and a half-court trap to suffocate the Owls offense in the first half.
“They press, they trap, they play man, they’re clever, they’re savvy—they’re a good basketball team,” declared Owl head coach Tony Ingle.
The intensity of the game was evident from the start, with trash talking and physical play erupting from both sides all over the floor. The KSU bench was issued a technical foul in the first half.
“We both don’t like each other, so we really competed,” explained Owl guard Kelvin McConnell. “It was a battle.”
A 10-2 run midway through the first half crested with a 21-12 lead for the visiting Bucs. However, KSU battled back to within three at 3:25 after two consecutive Spencer Dixon 3-pointers.
The Owls came out firing in the second half with two consecutive 3-pointers by sharpshooting Kelvin McConnell. The two buckets narrowed the gap to 34-32.
But the tone of the second half was highlighted by several momentum-grabbing dunks by ETSU, mostly by Isaiah Brown, who had three dunks within a span of three minutes at one point. The Bucs then embarked on a 29-13 run to take a commanding 63-45 lead with 5:42 remaining.
Kevin Tiggs and Smith led the Bucs with 19 points each. Brown scored 18 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor, mostly on dunks and lay ins. All of ETSU’s points came from the starting five.
McConnell led the Owls with 19 points, while Jon-Michael Nickerson added 13.
The Owls were undone by committing 19 turnovers and only forcing nine, while allowing ETSU to shoot 52.9 percent from the field. KSU shot just 40.4 percent on the night.
Shooting woes and turnovers told the tale for the Owls, although McConnell’s outside shooting and Zadrian Gibson’s high-flying dunks brought the Owls to within nine at one point late in the game.
KSU was missing senior guard J.D. Pollock, who is out for the season with a torn ACL.
“It was a big deal losing J.D.,” said Ingle. “He’s a senior and you could tell we got jitters out there. Our composure wasn’t where it needed to be.”
The Owls will take Christmas off before traveling to Athens on Dec. 31 to take on a struggling Georgia Bulldogs squad at 4 p.m. The two teams met in 2006-07 with the Dawgs surviving a game Owl squad that led for much of the second half.
“We’re going to try to send a statement that we’re one of the best teams in Georgia,” said McConnell. “We’ve got to come ready to play.”
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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