Kennesaw State Pushes Gonzaga Late Before Falling 73-64 in Portland
By faNILy Team ·
Kennesaw State's tournament run ended Thursday night in Portland, but not without a fight.
No. 3 seed Gonzaga beat the No. 14 Owls 73-64 in the first round of the West Region. It was KSU's second-ever NCAA Tournament game, and for the second time, the Owls hung around with a No. 3 seed into the final minutes.
How it played out
The Owls pushed Gonzaga early and late, per The Spokesman-Review. Gonzaga built a game-high 14-point lead with under seven minutes to play. Then KSU made it interesting.
The Owls' late rally created some tense moments down the stretch. Gonzaga point guard Mario Saint-Supery fouled out with under two minutes left, and Graham Ike and Jalen Warley both played late with four fouls. A Warley putback and an Ike floater in the final two minutes pushed the lead back to seven, and Gonzaga held on, extending its streak of first-round wins to 17.
Who stepped up
Four Owls finished in double figures:
- Amir Taylor: 15 points
- RJ Johnson: 15 points
- Kaden Richard: 14 points
- Frankquon Sherman: 13 points
Taylor, who scored 17 in the C-USA title game win over Louisiana Tech, kept producing on the bigger stage.
The season in context
It's easy to focus on the final score. But step back and look at what this group did:
- Won the program's first Conference USA tournament championship
- Earned KSU's second NCAA Tournament bid, after the first in 2023
- Went toe-to-toe with a 30-win Gonzaga team that's been to 27 straight tournaments
Back in 2023, the Owls fell 72-67 to No. 3 Xavier. Two tournament trips, two close calls against No. 3 seeds. That's a program that belongs.
The Owls also spread it around. Having four different players reach double figures against a team of Gonzaga's caliber says a lot about how balanced this group was, and how hard it was to key on any one guy.
What's next
The offseason starts now, and it moves fast. Under new NCAA rules, the basketball transfer window opens the day after the national championship game and lasts 15 days, and every program in the country, KSU included, will be working to keep its core together and add pieces.
In our view, the revenue-sharing era makes that a bigger challenge for mid-majors. A strong national TV showing helps players' profiles, which is great for them and can make roster retention tougher for the school.
For Owls fans
If you stayed up late on the East Coast to watch this one, you saw a team that didn't flinch. These players gave KSU fans a C-USA title and a national stage, and that's worth celebrating.
There's also a lesson here for fans of any mid-major. You don't need a 1 seed to get a memorable March. You need a team that competes, a fan base that shows up, and a couple of nights when the whole country is watching your players.
As a Georgia company, we were watching right along with you. And we're already looking ahead to the fall, when KSU football takes the spotlight.