Jamil Miller collected 16 points and 10 rebounds off the bench, Simeon Cottle added 15 points and host Kennesaw State earned a 79-77 victory over No. 24 Rutgers on Sunday afternoon in Georgia.
Miller made 6 of 7 shots — including 2 of 3 from 3-point range — to help the Owls (5-1) record their first win over a ranked team. They were 0-for-16 all-time against teams in the Associated Press Top 25.
Ricardo Wright had 14 points and Adrian Wooley had 10 to go along with seven assists and three steals to help Kennesaw State secure its fourth straight win.
The Owls benefited from a decisive advantage in rebounds (46-27) to hand the Scarlet Knights (4-1) their first loss of the season.
Rutgers freshman stars Dylan Harper had 21 points and Ace Bailey added 17.
Emmanuel Ogbole added 10 points for the Scarlet Knights, who ventured out of New Jersey for the first time this season.
Rutgers whittled a 20-point deficit in the first half down to two after Bailey sank a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to play in the second. Cottle misfired on a jumper but Kennesaw State reeled in the offensive rebound and Rongie Gordon sank a pair of free throws to push the Owls’ lead to 79-75 with 27 seconds remaining.
Harper halved the deficit after following his own missed shot and converting a layup with 15 seconds left.
Kennesaw State’s Delaney Heard missed both free throws, however Wooley intercepted Bailey’s cross-court pass to seal the win.
Ogbole made a layup to trim Kennesaw State’s lead to 18-16 before the Owls turned on the jets. Wright and Miller each made a 3-pointer and Cottle’s no-look alley-oop to Andrew Weir highlighted Kennesaw State’s 26-10 surge to close the half.
The Owls shot a robust 50 percent to seize a 44-26 lead at intermission.
–Field Level Media
