KSU wins battle of former D-II rivals

Saturday, January 12

Kennesaw, Ga.

7:30 PM

University of North Florida

Kennesaw State

Kyle Groothuis scored a season-high 11 points for the Ospreys.

1/12/2008 8:44:03 PM | Men's Basketball

Ospreys start hot, go cold in 80-59 loss at KSU

By: Tom Strother, UNF Athletics

BOX SCORE

KENNESAW, Ga. - The University of North Florida men's basketball team started strong on Saturday night when it squared off against long-time nemesis and former Division II rival Kennesaw State.

Unfortunately for UNF, it couldn't sustain the mojo in a 80-59 loss to the Owls at the KSU Convocation Center.

KSU erased a 16-14 deficit midway through the first half with a 12-0 run and was never seriously threatened again. The strutting, taunting Owls led 39-27 at halftime after shooting 53 percent over the first 20 minutes and never let up in the second half, getting their first win since early December.

KSU (3-13, 1-2 A-Sun) shot 45 percent for the game, hit nine 3-pointers and got 17 points from Ronell Wooten to snap an school-record-tying eight- game losing streak. UNF (1-15, 0-4 A-Sun) shot 38 percent but committed 16 turnovers and hit just 2-of- 10 shots from 3-point range in dropping both games this weekend during its swing through Georgia. The Ospreys lost at Mercer on Thursday.

Stan Januska led UNF with 14 points before being ejected from the game in the second half for his second technical foul, while Tom Hammonds added 13 points and freshman Kyle Groothuis a season-high 11 points. Because of the ejection, Januska will not be able to play in UNF's next conference game, which is against cross-town rival Jacksonville next Saturday.

Things started well enough for the Ospreys, who hit four of their first eight shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, to grab the early lead. KSU battled back to tie the game at 14 before Kyle Groothuis' layup pushed the Ospreys back in front for the final time with 12:36 to play before intermission. J.D. Pollock's 3-pointer with 11:21 to play put the Owls in front for the first time, 17-16, and ignited the game- turning 12-0 run for KSU.

The Owls put together a 13-4 run early in the second half to effectively put the game out of reach.

The Ospreys will take on the Dolphins next Saturday at UNF Arena in the first installment of the 2007-08 SunTrust River City Rumble. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., with the game to be aired locally on WBOB- AM 1320 and via the World Wide Web on ASUN.TV.