Kennesaw State fends off New Mexico State 80-77 in Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal

Mar 14, 2026, 10:56 am

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- — Simeon Cottle had 32 points to match his career high and Kennesaw State held off New Mexico State 80-77 in a Conference USA Tournament quarterfinal on Thursday night.

Cottle shot 8 for 12 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line for the fourth-seeded Owls (19-13), who will play No. 1 seed Liberty in a Friday semifinal.

Adrian Wooley added 17 points for Kennesaw State and he made two free throws with one second left to preserve the victory. Braedan Lue hit three 3-pointers and scored 15.

Peter Filipovity and Robert Carpenter both scored 21 to lead the fifth-seeded Aggies (17-15). Filipovity added six rebounds. Nate Tshimanga finished with 10 points.

Kennesaw State went into halftime tied with New Mexico State 34-34. Cottle scored 13 points in the half. Cottle scored 19 points in the second half to help lead Kennesaw State to a three-point victory.

------

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.