KENNESAW, Ga. -- — Simeon Cottle had 28 points in Kennesaw State's 83-71 victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday night in the Conference USA opener for both teams.

Cottle shot 9 of 21 from the field, including 4 for 11 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 7 from the line for the Owls (9-5, 1-0). Adrian Wooley scored 20 points while going 8 of 14 (2 for 6 from 3-point range) and added eight rebounds. Braedan Lue went 5 of 10 from the field (2 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 12 points.

Jaron Pierre Jr. led the Gamecocks (8-6, 0-1) in scoring, finishing with 20 points and four assists. Marcellus Brigham Jr. added 15 points and six rebounds for Jacksonville State. Mason Nicholson also had 10 points and five blocks.

Kennesaw State got a team-high 12 points across the first half from Cottle and the game was tied 36-36 at halftime. Kennesaw State took a 10-point lead in the second half thanks to an 11-0 scoring run. Cottle led with 16 points in the second half.

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