GREENSBORO, N.C. — A historic victory was in the hands of Kennesaw State.
And just like that it was gone.
Kennesaw State failed to hold a 13-point second-half lead Friday and lost to Xavier, 72-67, in a dramatic NCAA Tournament first-round game at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Terrell Burden had a layup blocked at the rim in the closing seconds, trailing 68-67, as Kennesaw State’s dreams came to an abrupt end. Xavier made four free throws for the final margin.
Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State, which finished 26-9. Xavier improved to 26-9 and advances to the second round. It will face the winner of the Iowa State-Pitt game.
The Owls pushed their lead to 13 points early in the second half, 51-38, with a run of eight consecutive points, capped by a put-back by Spencer Rodgers. The basket forced Xavier to call a timeout with 15:46 remaining. Kennesaw State kept the double-digit lead, toggling between 11 and 13 points, for the next six minutes.
Xavier finally cut its deficit to less than double digits, 61-53, with 8:27 remaining. It was the start of a 15-2 run as Xavier made it a tie score. Xavier pulled even, at 61-61, with 5:28 remaining.
The lead was back in Xavier’s hands on their next possession as Jack Nunge made a free throw with 4:47 left for a 62-61 advantage. A 17-2 run ended with 4:15 remaining and a 63-61 advantage.
Kennesaw State tied the score with a pair of free throws by Brandon Stroud. After a Nunge free throw gave Xavier the lead back, Demond Robinson made a jumper with 2:01 left for another Kennesaw State lead, 65-64. The Owls answered an Adam Kunkel 3-pointer with a Kasen Jennings basket to tie the score at 67-67 with a minute remaining.
After Burden missed a driving layup, Xavier’s Colby Jones made one of two free throws with 18.3 seconds remaining for a 68-67 lead. Kennesaw State brought the ball up court and called a timeout with 13.6 seconds left, setting up Burden’s final drive.
Kennesaw State took a 43-36 lead into halftime. The Owls used two separate 14-3 runs to take the advantage, including one to end the first half.
After trailing by nine points early in the game, as Xavier exploited its size advantage, Kennesaw State settled down. Xavier scored 14 of its first 22 points in the paint. It didn’t score in the paint the rest of the half.
It soon became evident that the moment was not too big for these Owls.
Kennesaw State took its first lead of the game, 25-23, with 9:23 remaining in the first half with the first of their 14-3 runs. Chris Youngblood and Simeon Cottle made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score and force a Xavier timeout. Spencer Rodgers then gave the Owls the lead with a layup.
After Xavier took a four-point lead, 33-29, Kennesaw State ended the half with another 14-3 run that had Xavier in disarray. Rodgers made a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock was about to expire to give Kennesaw State a seven-point lead, 41-34, with 1:38 remaining in the half.
