By: by Mark Toma
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Kennesaw State continues its Midwest trek on Tuesday evening when they battle the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame at the Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center as part of the 2009 Chicago Invitational Challenge.
Kennesaw State (2-1) is coming off a hard-fought, 76-66, loss to Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon while the Fighting Irish (4-0) are fresh off their fourth straight win, a 91-72 win over Liberty on Sunday evening.
The game is the first-ever meeting between Kennesaw State and Notre Dame and it also marks the first time the Owls are playing a team from Big East Conference. Notre Dame has played teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference before, facing USC Upstate last year and North Florida in the 2007-08 season is undefeated against the A-Sun.
The Black and Gold will look to add to the solid performances of senior Jon-Michael Nickerson and redshirt freshman Markeith Cummings when they face the Irish. The pair has scored in double-figures in the Owls first three games and is one-two in scoring. Cummings has also led the Owls in rebounding in all three games.
The emergence of redshirts Matt Heramb and Ladaris Green combined with the experienced Jonathan Whipple has given Kennesaw State head coach Tony Ingle some depth and talent in the paint. Green, a redshirt freshman, leads the Owls in blocks with four while senior tri-captain Whipple had a three-block night in the season opener.
The Owls will look to limit the production of Notre Dame’s All-American Luke Harangody. The 6-foot-8-inch Harengody is one of the most acclaimed players in the nation and is coming off a 32-point night against Liberty. He was the leading vote getter on the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team and was named to the 50-person Naismith Trophy Preseason Watch List.
Also, he was named to the John R. Wooden All-America Team Preseason Top 50 List where he is the only two-time member of that squad having earned a spot on the 10-member team in both 2008 and 2009.
Kennesaw State will play Tennessee State on Friday afternoon as the eight teams participating in the Chicago Invitational Challenge move to the IUC Pavilion for the weekend’s tournament format games. The Owls will then play either Liberty or Mississippi Valley State on Saturday afternoon.
Tip-off between the Irish and the Owls will be at 7:30 p.m. The game can be heard live on the radio home of the Owls, 920am WGKA, and also online at www.920WGKA.com. Craig Corbin and Scott Webb will carry all the action beginning with the pregame show at 7:00 p.m.
