The Owls took on Atlantic Sun rival Jacksonville (13-10, 11-3) on Monday night at the Convocation Center and dropped a heartbreaking 59-56 affair to the visiting Dolphins.
After an Owl timeout with 17.9 seconds left, junior forward Jon-Michael Nickerson found himself with the ball again and launched a three. Unfortunately for the home crowd, the shot caromed off the rim and Jacksonville secured its 10th win in 12 games.
Three-point whiz Kelvin McConnell was the obvious pick to take the last shot, but KSU head coach Tony Ingle elected to use him as a decoy to try and get a better shot. Nickerson was the choice, as he has made several clutch baskets throughout his career, prompting his coach to liken him to a certain character in a Paul Newman film.
“Kelvin’s small, but Kelvin can shoot it. But they had a bigger guy on him,” explained Ingle. “That put Kelvin at a disadvantage. And we had to get (a shot) off. J-Mac (Nickerson) is ‘Cool-hand Luke’. You’ve seen him in many different situations.”
Despite leading early on, the Owls fell behind by halftime as the two teams went to the locker room with KSU trailing 28-26. The visitors extended their lead in the second half to as many as 10 with a 14-4 run after KSU tied the game just after the break.
However, the Owls fought their way to within three on a Kelvin McConnell 3-pointer with 48.2 seconds remaining. Nickerson then claimed a rebound off an errant Dolphin shot and the Owls had their chance to tie on the last possession.
Despite the loss, Ingle was not down on his team.
“We put each other in a position to win a basketball game,” declared a pleased coach Tony Ingle. “I couldn’t say enough about (the players) to be honest with you. I’m proud of them.”
Nickerson led the Owls with 13 points, while McConnell had 12 and Spencer Dixon added 10.
Jacksonville moved into a first-place tie with ETSU in the Atlantic Sun standings after the win.
Next up for the Owls (7-16, 3-11) is Stetson in DeLand, Fla. The Hatters defeated KSU at the Convocation Center on Jan. 16, 69-52.
GIBSON OUT
Sophomore forward Zadrian Gibson missed the game with an undisclosed injury. The injury is not thought to be serious and Gibson should return to action within a week.
SEND IT IN, KURTIS!
Freshman guard Kurtis Woods wowed the Convocation Center crowd with a sensational double-clutch reverse dunk in the first half. Woods drove past a defender before launching into the air and executing a dunk that has rarely been seen anywhere outside of NBA arenas.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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