KENNESAW, Georgia - January 2, 2006 - Kennesaw State's Andre Morgan scored 22 points, but it was DeAndre Rice and his 23 points that led Florida Atlantic to a 73-67 win over the Owls in a battle of conference unbeatens at the KSU Convocation Center on Monday afternoon.

In the battle of the Owls and the battle of Atlantic Sun Conference undefeated teams, it was Morgan and Rodney Webb who helped keep Florida Atlantic atop the A-Sun.

Thanks to 48 percent shooting and 11 points by Morgan, Kennesaw State had a two-point lead at intermission. The Owls (4-8 overall, 2-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) and once again battled through a lack of height to out rebound Florida Atlantic by five.

After Morgan hit a three-pointer with 9:26 left in the game, giving the Owls a one-point lead, Florida Atlantic (4-6, 3-0) stormed back to take a lead they would hold the rest of the afternoon.

Rice hit a pair of free-throws to give FAU a one-point advantage with 9:06 left. Webb hit a short jumper at the 8:19 mark to push the lead to three points and Kevin Green hit a three-pointer before Morgan temporarily stopped the bleeding with a pair of free-throws with 7:00 minutes remaining.

Webb's dunk gave Florida Atlantic an eight-point lead with 2:12 left before Ronell Wooten, who was quiet for the better part of the game, hit a pair of three-pointers in less than a minute to cut the lead to 66-64 with 1:19 left in the game.

"We battled hard," said Kennesaw State head coach Tony Ingle. "I am proud of our guys. We did some things right and they fought tenaciously but we just came up short."

The Owls will be back in action when they make their first televised appearance of the year on Friday night against Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.