KSU men’s basketball falls at North Florida, 86-67

Release from Kennesaw State Athletics:

The Kennesaw State men’s basketball team lost to the North Florida Ospreys in front of an energetic crowd, 86-67.

“It was a tale of two halves,” head coach Jimmy Lallathin said. “I was very happy with our execution and energy in the second half. In the first half, we just couldn’t get the stops to stop the bleeding. In the second half, we got some stops and were able to get out in transition and get some easy baskets. I’m happy with our second half performance, but it’s not a 20-minute game. We’ll have to put 40 minutes together for a great opportunity on Saturday against Jacksonville.”

The Owls had five players reach double figures in scoring with Nigel Pruitt and Damien Wilson leading the team with 14.

All of Yonel Brown’s 13 points came in the second half, and Willy Kouassi was one rebound away from having a double-double as he had 12 points and nine rebounds.

Orlando Coleman was the other Kennesaw State player in double figures with 12.

Facing a 25-point deficit at halftime, the Owls responded in the second half and came out with a lot of energy. KSU’s hustle in the second half led them to outscoring UNF 44-38.

Halfway through the second half, the Owls cut the lead to 18 with a 14-3 run, but that is as close as they would get the rest of the way.

North Florida built their lead in the opening frame behind strong defense and sharp shooting from the outside.