WKU Men’s Basketball lost on the road to the Kennesaw State Owls 76-69 Thursday night as Kennesaw State guards Simeon Cottle and Adrian Wooley put up a masterclass against the WKU defense.
Cottle and Wooley ended the game with a combined 53 points, 30 from Cottle and 23 from Wooley, as only one other Owl cracked double digits. The Owls opened up a 31-16 lead with seven minutes to play in the first half thanks to Cottle with 14 and Wooley with 13 first-half points.
The Hilltoppers struggled to shoot the ball, shooting just 34% from the field. Senior guard Don McHenry did all he could, ending the night with 30, but the Hilltoppers’ leading scorer couldn’t keep pace with the Owl duo.
WKU was out-rebounded by the Owls 50-32. WKU had three players with four personal fouls and a total of 20 personal fouls giving the Owls 18 points on free throws.
First Half
The Owls led 12-2 at the first media timeout as the Hilltoppers allowed KSU to go on an early 10-0 run.
KSU continued its run, raising the run to 14-0. Head Coach Hank Plona called a timeout with 15 minutes remaining in an attempt to disrupt the run. Marshall hit a 3-pointer coming out of the timeout ending the Owls’ run.
Going into the first media timeout, the Owls lead 20-8. Wooley torched the Hilltopper defense, shooting 4-4 with two from beyond the arc and 3-4 on free throws. His 13 points outscored the entire team.
Jalen Jackson hit his first 3-pointer of the season with nine minutes left in the game cutting their deficit to 24-16.
The Owls led 31-16 with 6:49 left in the half. Cottle led the Owls, scoring 14 points with Wooley right behind him with 13.
Going into the final media timeout of the half the Hilltoppers trailed 31-17. The Hilltoppers were shooting just 20% from the field.
The Hilltoppers went on a 9-0 to end the half. The Owls led 31-25. Wooley and Cottle’s point totals combined were higher than the Hilltoppers’ entire offense, but no Owl scored in the last 7:05 of the half.
Second Half
The Owls led 39-32 at the first media timeout of the half.
The Hilltoppers called a timeout as the Owls were on a 10-2 run, extending their lead to 46-32.
The Hilltoppers called a timeout with 14 minutes left to play in the game down 46-32. Despite an impressive 3-pointer from Khristian Lander, the Hilltoppers struggled to cut into their deficit.
The Owls led 57-49 going into the eight-minute media timeout.
Heading into the final media timeout the Owls led 67-58. The Hilltoppers had no answers for Cottle with 27 points, and Wooley with 23.
The Owls held on to win 76-69.
WKU will look to bounce back Saturday, Feb. 8 at Jacksonville State.
