MDJ article - Thoughts - Kennesaw State isn't that far from being a good basketball t
Kennesaw State isn't that far from being a good basketball team.
Sure, it sounds funny saying that just hours after the Owls lost, 80-55, at the hands of Georgia Tech, but there were some promising signs in what appeared to be a lopsided outcome.
In the first half, Kennesaw State shot 19 percent from the floor (5-for-26), 11 percent (1-for-9) from beyond the 3-point line, missed four alley-oops and was outrebounded, 22-17.
Yet, as miserable as those numbers sound, the Owls trailed only 27-16 at the half.
Kennesaw State couldn't have played much worse, trailing a team that had spent all season in the polls before losing Sunday - in its own building, no less - by only 11 points.
Sure, it might be finding the silver lining, or seeing the glass half full, but it's what Owls coach Tony Ingle has to work with.
"We couldn't make shots to begin with," Ingle said. And we need to make a shot to keep our confidence up."
Or, in Kennesaw State's case, develop some on the road. Three of the Owls' four wins this season have come at home, the other coming on a neutral court in Chicago.
This is what happens when the core of the team is young. The nucleus of the team going forward starts with two redshirt freshmen: leading scorer Markeith Cummings, who is averaging 16.6 points per game, and LaDaris Green, who is putting up nearly seven points and eight rebounds a night.
Add to them a pair of sophomores in Spencer Dixon and Kurtis Woods, and it all points to improvement in the not so distant future.
Of course, that didn't help Kennesaw State in the second half Tuesday.
After struggling with its shooting the last two games, including an overtime loss to Florida State on Sunday, Georgia Tech found the range over the final 20 minutes. As a team, the Yellow Jackets, in the second half, shot 65 percent from the floor and 70 percent from behind the arc.
Lost in Georgia Tech's point barrage, was an improved performance by the Owls. Kennesaw State shot 45 percent in the half and made eight of their 16 3-point attempts.
The Owls will now have to sit and wait for a week before coming back home to host Fordham with a chance to get back in the win column.
"We're young," Ingle said, "so we play better at home."
The question will then be, can the Owls learn how to win on the road in the A-Sun? If they can, this group has a chance to be better sooner than later and possibly make a little noise in their first conference tournament.
One thing is for sure. There is no A-Sun team as good as Georgia Tech. And, if the players have any crisis in confidence, just follow Ingle, because he has an idea of where his team is going.
"Our strategy was to stay as close as we (could), and as long as we (could), and make a good showing," Ingle said of playing the Yellow Jackets. "I really thought we would play better, but I told the guys we won't play another team as tough as that until the NCAA tournament."
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