3/5/2023
KSU vs Liberty Box Score (PDF)
Liberty Postgame Press Conference
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KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State continued its incredible run this season, going from a 1-win team three years ago to ASUN Champions as Terrell Burden sank a free throw with 0.7 seconds left to break a tie game and send the Owls to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the school’s Division I era with a 67-66 victory over Liberty in Sunday’s title game. Played in front of a new KSU Convocation Center record crowd of 3,805, the top-seeded Owls continued to add to their storybook season by knocking off the second-seeded Flames for the second time this season.
Thanks to winning ASUN tournament for the first-time in school history, the Owls receive the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the school’s first-ever as a Division I program. KSU will find out its first opponent in the Big Dance when this year’s tournament selections are announced on Sunday, March 12 during the selection show on CBS starting at 6 p.m. Information about a viewing party for KSU, as well as tickets for the NCAA Tournament will be announced soon.
OWL OF THE GAME: Senior Terrell Burden claimed ASUN Tournament MVP with another outstanding performance against the Flames. Three weeks ago, he scored 16 points in the second half to lead the game-ending run, he again came up big after halftime, scoring 14 of his team-high 19 points. He was 4-of-6 in the final 20 minutes, 7-10 for the game, and made 5-of-7 at the line.
STAT OF THE GAME: Liberty’s Darius McGhee, the ASUN Player of the Year who had scored 90 points against the Owls in his previous two games, came into the afternoon ranked second in the nation in made three-pointers with 153. KSU came out determined not to give the senior any space to shoot, and limited the Flames star to just 14 points on 6-of-21 shooting, including an 0-11 performance from three-point range.
THE FINAL 64 SECONDS: Brandon Stroud, a 51.5% free throw shooting on the season, was fouled and drained both attempts at the line to give KSU a 66-61 edge with 1:04 to play. McGhee quickly drove down the lane and drew a foul, and would sink a pair to make it a three-point game. Burden attempted to drive in for a layup on the other end but had the ball knocked out off his body, giving possession back to the Flames, and they took advantage as Colin Porter drained a trey with 23 seconds on the clock for a 66-66 tie. KSU called timeout and then got the ball to Burden, who ran the clock down at the top of the key before making a move towards the basket with five seconds to go. He attempted a floater but was hit on the arm, awarding him two free throws with under a second to go. Burden hit the first for the game-winning point, then missed the second and KSU knocked the rebound out to run out the clock for the Owl victory.
THE FIRST HALF: The first half saw five lead changes, as the Flames scored the first four points for a quick 4-0 edge. KSU responded with a 15-3 run, started by a Brandon Stroud jumper. He then added a long trey and Demond Robinson’s layup made it a 15-7 lead for the Owls. Liberty came back with a 9-0 run of its own, and the game was fairly even the rest of the half, until the Flames scored five straight for a 29-25 lead with three minutes to play. Burden scored on a layup on the other end with two minutes to play, and that was the last backet for either team going into halftime.
THE SECOND HALF: The Owls used a 9-4 run early in the second half to go ahead by 43-39 with 12:20 to play. The lead grew to six on a Burden three-point play, but the Flames answered with a 8-0 spurt, taking their last lead at 53-51 with 7:38 on the clock. Chris Youngblood stopped the run with his first trey of the game for KSU, starting 11-2 run for the Owls to go up 62-55 at the 3:03 mark, and they would not trail again.
NOTES
-KSU’s 26th victory of the season extends the school record (Division I era) for most wins in a season, as the previous record was 14 in 2016-17. It also surpasses the Owls’ total wins from the previous three seasons combined (19).
-The Owls have now at least doubled their win total in three consecutive seasons, going from one win in 2019-20, to five in 2020-21, to 13 in 2021-22.
-KSU is the first team since BYU in 2001 to advance to the NCAA Tournament less than five years after a season with one or zero wins.
-Burden was named Tournament MVP, while joining him on the all-tournament team was Youngblood and Stroud.
-KSU has now won two straight against Liberty after losing the first nine in the series.
-Four players finished in double-figures, with Youngblood posting 16, Stroud 12, and Robinson 10 while he added 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
-KSU shot 46.9% (23-of-49) for the game, was 6-of-15 from three-point range (40%) and 15-of-18 at the free throw line (83.3%). The Owls had come into the afternoon having made just 53.3% (24-of-45) of its free throw attempts in the first two games of the tournament.
-Liberty was held to 40.6%, 21.7% (5-of-23) from three-point range, and 64.3% at the line.
-KSU played in three match-ups of 20-win teams this season and won all three, with the sweep over Liberty and the semifinal win over Lipscomb.
-The Flames were the highest NET ranked team the Owls have ever defeated, as Liberty was 40th coming into the championship game.
-The last time the Owls played in a national postseason tournament was as a Division II program in the 2004-05 season, while KSU was the 2003-04 D2 national champions.
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