Kennesaw State used a late surge to steal a win in the newly minted Battle of I-75.
The Owls, despite trailing much of the evening, defeated Georgia State 81-77 in downtown Atlanta on Friday. KSU (7-3) has won consecutive games over GSU over the past couple of years, the first times these teams have faced off since 1989.
This was KSU’s first victory at Georgia State (the Owls were 0-3 previously). The Panthers have a 3-2 lead in the series.
“That was awesome; that’s a rivalry,” KSU coach Antoine Pettway said. “When I got this job, (GSU) coach (Jonas) Hayes called and wanted to start this rivalry. We said we wanted to do this every single year. That’s a really good program. Jonas is one of the best up-and-coming coaches in the NCAA. I love him. He’s a friend. So bringing these two programs together to play is great for the state.
“It’s awesome for the state. And it’s going to be competitive every time because he’s going to keep recruiting and getting better. We’re going to do the same.”
The Panthers jumped out to a 17-6 advantage, going 3-for-3 on 3-pointers. So the Owls were behind the 8-ball most of the first half. They took a brief lead (27-25) at the 4:56 mark but had to push their way through a messy first 20 minutes.
Georgia State’s firepower can make it tough for any opposition to keep pace, even one with KSU’s offensive capabilities. But the Owls outscored the Panthers 45-38 in the second half, not taking the lead until Adrian Wooley’s 3-pointer put them ahead 71-70 with 4:11 remaining.
Wooley was sensational, scoring a career-best 28 points (9-for-17 shooting) with four assists. “Coach gave me the green light to be aggressive, so I had to take advantage,” the freshman guard said.
This was a needed rebound for KSU, which dropped two of three games on its recent trip in Canada since toppling then-ranked Rutgers. The Owls didn’t make a field goal over the final 3:42 of the game, but KSU went 8-for-8 on free throws in that stretch. It was a gutsy way to finish a game that featured six ties and eight lead changes.
“We’ve just been trying to keep a laser focus,” guard Simeon Cottle said. “Beating a ranked team (Rutgers), you become the target. So just us keeping that mindset.”
The Owls are a young team figuring out how to gel; the Panthers are an experienced team with a lot of offense but couldn’t get the stops. Hayes expressed frustration following the game that his team needs to be more defensively sound. It’s not going to reach its potential by simply trying to turn every game into a track meet.
Georgia State (4-5) will try to learn from a missed opportunity. The Panthers have lost three of four. Zarique Nutter led them in scoring with 20 points, followed by Cesare Edwards (18) and Toneari Lane (16).
Expect this matchup to remain on both school’s schedules. It’s an appropriate non-conference rivalry that will continue increasing in prominence as the programs grow and the head-to-head meetings stack up. It’d help if future editions were as competitive as Friday’s, too.
“We’re going to continue to do this,” Pettway said. “This is really good for the state and it’s a great game to prepare us for our league. I love competing against this team.”
KSU’s travels will take it to California later this month. Its next game is against Santa Clara on Dec. 18 and San Jose State on Dec. 21. The Owls will return to the Convocation Center on Dec. 29 to face Brewton-Parker.
The Panthers, meanwhile, host Charlotte on Dec. 14 before heading to Alabama to see Auburn and Sun Belt opponent Troy on Dec. 17 and Dec. 21, respectively.
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