#1 Kennesaw State defeated #2 Liberty on Sunday inside the Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Ga., to capture the program's first ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Championship.
At the first media break in the game, Kennesaw State held a one-point advantage leading 8-7. All-Conference Second Team selection Terrell Burden (5'10''-PG) and Spencer Rodgers (6'4''-G) had three points apiece for the Owls while Scholar-Athlete of the Year Kyle Rode (6'7''-F) was the top scorer for the Flames. KSU came out of the timeout on a 7-0 run before Player of Year Darius McGhee (5'9''-PG-1999) scored with an acrobatic layup. Back-to-back buckets from Rode trimmed the deficit to one for Liberty and pushed his point total to eight at the next stoppage in play. Neither team was able to pull away on the scoreboard and the game was tied at 24 with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Liberty went into the locker room at halftime with a 29-27 advantage. Rode was the game's only double-digit scorer with 11 while Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Stroud (6'6''-G) led Kennesaw State with eight.
Both teams traded baskets to open the second half with Kennesaw State holding a slight edge on the scoreboard of 37-35 after four minutes of play. Burden drove to connect on a layup in back-to-back possessions for the Owls to give KSU a 43-39 edge. With 7:58 on the clock and the game paused for a media timeout, KSU remained ahead by one point but the Flames were in the midst of a 5-0 run thanks to a layup, free throw and dunk all coming from Shiloh Robinson (6'7''-F). Coming out of the break, Rode connected on a three-pointer to extend the Liberty run and give his team a two-point lead. The next break in the game came with 4:20 remaining after a dunk from Demond Robinson (6'8''-F-2000) put KSU ahead 58-55. First Team All-Conference selection Chris Youngblood (6'4''-G) drove through the lane and connected on a floater with just under four minutes remaining to give KSU a seven-point lead at 62-55. At 2:20, Rode connected from deep after an offensive rebound for his 23rd point of the contest and cut the deficit to 62-59 for the Flames. After the more highly contested play, Championship MVP Terrell Burden iced the game at the line for KSU to give the Owls their first ASUN Conference Championship.

Key Notes
- Kennesaw State captured its first ASUN Championship title in the Owls' first trip to the championship title game
- This marked the first conference championship for Kennesaw State at the Division I in the sport of Men's Basketball
- The Owls became the 19th program to capture the conference title and the second-consecutive first-time winner of the Bob Vanatta Trophy
- With the win, the Owls improved to 7-9 in ASUN Championship play and are now 2-9 in all-time matchups against Liberty
- The showdown between the Owls and Flames was the first time the two sides have met in the ASUN Championship
- Sunday's matchup was the first ASUN Championship Final held in the State of Georgia since Mercer hosted the title game in Macon, Ga. (2013)

Courtesy of asunsports.org

All-Tournament MVP: Terrell Burden (5'10''-PG) of KSU
Player of the Year: Darius McGhee (5'9''-PG-1999) of Liberty
Defensive Player of the Year: Brandon Stroud (6'6''-G) of KSU
Freshman of the Year: Jacari Lane (6'1''-G) of N.Alabama
Newcomer of the Year: Jalen Blackmon (6'3''-G) of Stetson
Sixth Man of the Year: Jacari Lane (6'1''-G) of N.Alabama
Coach of the Year: Amir Abdur-Rahim of KSU

All-A-Sun First Team 2023

McGhee

Blanton

Youngblood

Ognacevic

Blackmon

First Team
Darius McGhee (5'9''-PG-1999) of Liberty
Devontae Blanton (6'6''-SF) of EKU
Chris Youngblood (6'4''-G) of KSU
Jacob Ognacevic (6'7''-F) of Lipscomb
Jalen Blackmon (6'3''-G) of Stetson

All-A-Sun Second Team 2023

Burden

Rode

Ortiz

Hendricksen

Dye

Second Team
Terrell Burden (5'10''-PG) of KSU
Kyle Rode (6'7''-F) of Liberty
Daniel Ortiz (6'0''-PG) of N.Alabama
Carter Hendricksen (6'7''-F-2000) of UNF
Kenny Dye (6'0''-PG) of Queens, NC

All-A-Sun Third Team 2023

Tipton

Hunter-Vincent

Thompson

Placer

McKee

Swenson

Third Team
Garrett Tipton (6'4''-G) of Bellarmine
Camren Hunter-Vincent (6'3''-G) of Cent Arkansas
Isaiah Thompson (6'1''-G-2000) of FGCU
Jose Placer (6'1''-G) of UNF
AJ McKee (6'2''-G) of Queens, NC
Stephan Swenson (6'2''-G-2002) of Stetson

All-Freshman Team
Jacari Lane (6'1''-G) of N.Alabama
Ben Johnson (6'3''-G) of Bellarmine
Peter Suder (6'5''-G) of Bellarmine
Tayshawn Comer (6'1''-G) of EKU
Colin Porter (5'9''-PG) of Liberty

All-Academic Team
Kyle Rode (6'7''-F) of Liberty
Alec Pfriem (6'5''-G) of Bellarmine
Juston Betz (6'3''-G) of Bellarmine
Cooper Robb (6'1''-G) of EKU
Isaiah Thompson (6'1''-G-2000) of FGCU
Kevion Nolan (6'2''-G) of Jacksonville
Ahsan Asadullah (6'10''-C) of Lipscomb
Damian Forrest (6'10''-F-2001) of N.Alabama

All-Tournament Team
Terrell Burden (5'10''-PG) of KSU
Brandon Stroud (6'6''-G) of KSU
Chris Youngblood (6'4''-G) of KSU
Darius McGhee (5'9''-PG-1999) of Liberty
Colin Porter (5'9''-PG) of Liberty
Devontae Blanton (6'6''-SF) of EKU
Jacob Ognacevic (6'7''-F) of Lipscomb