Jan. 24, 2008

KENNESAW, Ga. - The Owls will look for their second straight home win on Thursday evening as they battle the second-place Bruins of Belmont in a key Atlantic Sun Conference contest at the KSU Convocation Center.

The Owls (3-15, 1-4 A-Sun) head into the game trying to snap a two-game losing streak, while their opponents, the Bruins, are riding a three-game winning streak and have won five of their last six.

Kennesaw State has won three times at home this season and is fresh off of a home victory against North Florida. The Bruins are 7-6 away from home this season and have split their last two road games, defeating Lipscomb, 99-91, in overtime and losing to Campbell, 83-75.

The major challenges for Kennesaw State will be trying to contain a Belmont offense that is averaging over 80 points per game and has a bevy of sharp shooters. While the Owls haven't broke the 80-point mark yet this season, Belmont has eclipsed that level 12 times and eight times in its last 10 games.

The Bruins (12-7, 4-1) also possess a dangerous array of scorers as eight different players have led the Bruins in scoring this season. Justin Hare, Shane Dansby and Matthew Dotson are all averaging in double-figures, while Andy Wicke is averaging double-figures in conference games.

Ronell Wooten leads the Owls in scoring at 15.9 ppg and has been the leading scorer over the past three games. Aiding the Owls senior and shouldering some of the scoring burden has been freshman point guard, Kelvin McConnell.

The rookie, who is averaging 10.0 ppg in five conference games, has led the Owls in scoring three times and twice in the last six games. McConnell is coming off an 18-point, performance at Florida Gulf Coast, his second-highest scoring game after a 19-point career-high effort against Nicholls State.

The Owls also have benefited from the solid defensive play of redshirt freshman John Allison and sophomore Jonathan Whipple. The duo will need to be at their best tonight to contain the versatile Belmont offense. Allison, at seven-foot-one, has three blocked shots in two of the last three games, while Whipple, at an expansive six-foot-seven, has been tremendous on the perimeter as well as inside.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. and can be heard on SuperTalk 1230/1340 AM and can be seen on the web on ASun.TV.com.