KENNESAW - Kennesaw State had two things going for it Thursday in the closing minute of its game against Atlantic Sun rival Mercer.

The Owls had a 57-56 lead and they held the advantage in team fouls, 8-4.

That combination proved very beneficial as Kennesaw State went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the closing 55 seconds and withstood a potential game-tying 3-pointer to beat Mercer 66-63 in front of a record crowd of 2,378 at the KSU Convocation Center.

Kennesaw Mountain product Spencer Dixon, who led the Owls with 16 points and four steals, was 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute. Matt Heramb went 3-for-4, while Jon-Michael Nickerson made both of his free throws with 7.4 seconds left to give the Owls a 66-63 lead.

The Bears inbounded the ball and raced down the court to set up game-winner. E.J. Kusnyer, who earlier drained a 3 with 34.1 seconds left to cut Mercer's deficit to 61-59, attempted a 3 near the top of the circle with 1 second left, but the try missed the mark, sending the raucous crowd into a jubilant celebration.

After the game, the Kennesaw State players rushed back onto the court to shake hands with fans in attendance - especially those in the student section - and coach Tony Ingle got on the arena's microphone and addressed those who came to watch the game which has been dubbed the "Battle of I-75".

"We couldn't have done this without your support," Ingle told the crowd. "Thank you for being here. Thanks for your support and we'll see you on Saturday against USC-Upstate."

The victory was the sixth in a row for the Owls, who evened their record at 12-12 and moved into a tie with Mercer at 7-6 in the conference standings. The Owls now also own the tiebreaker against the Bears (11-12, 7-6), and are a game back from a three-way tie for third place in the A-Sun.

Nickerson scored eight points in 16 minutes, while Heramb finished with five points and six rebounds. Every player who saw the floor had at least one field goal for Kennesaw State, whose bench outscored the Bears' 24-6.

Kurtis Woods finished with nine points, LaDaris Green had eight points and eight rebounds, and former Pebblebrook standout Zadrian Gibson totaled nine points and eight rebounds.

The Owls outrebounded the Bears 44-35 and held a 25-15 advantage on the offensive glass.

Mercer held a 17-6 lead with 11:53 left in the first half as Kennesaw State missed eight of its first 10 shots and turned the ball over three times.

Markeith Cummings, the Owls' leading scorer, entered the game having scored in double figures in 23 straight contests, but was ineffective early and took a seat on the bench. The move didn't rattle the Owls, who had several different players pick up the slack.

Kennesaw State responded with a 13-2 run and tied the contest at 19-all after a layup from Dixon. Tied at 23-all with 3:45 left following two free throws from former Wheeler star James Florence, the Owls finished the first half on a 7-3 spark for a 30-26 halftime advantage.

Mercer quickly tied the game at 30-all to start the second half and took a 45-43 advantage at the 9:56 mark. Former Whitefield Academy standout Kelvin McConnell's answered with a 3-pointer to give the Owls a 46-45 lead they would not relinquish.

The Owls took a 55-49 lead with 3:06 left after a Dixon layup, but the Bears closed to within 57-56 with 1:10 left in the game.

"Markeith's our go-to player, and we all know that, but we can still play without him on floor" said Dixon, who played the entire game, save for a 5-second span in the first half when he went over a play with Ingle on the sideline. "This team is so connected, and we have a bond, so when one guy's not on, other players step up. We wanted to win this game. We played hard, made our free throws, and caused turnovers. We played together."

Florence led the Bears with 19 points. Daniel Emerson had 16 points and 14 rebounds and Jeff Smith added 10 points.