SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Kennesaw State and USC Upstate did not disappoint fans at the Hodge Center on Sunday afternoon as the series, marked by close games, needed overtime to settle the 21st meeting as the Spartans upended the Owls, 66-62.

Kennesaw State (6-12, 1-6 A-Sun) held a six-point lead late in the second half, but went scoreless over the final 6 minutes of regulation as the Spartans ended the game on an 8-0 run to force overtime.

Matt Heramb, who had five points on the day, hit a 3-pointer to give the Owls a 53-45 lead with exactly 6 minutes remaining, before Upstate's leading scorer Nick Schneiders' dunk cut the lead to six points.

With 3:21 left, Josh Chavis hit a 3-pointer to make the score 53-50 and with just over a minute remaining Ryan LeGates tied the game on a long-range basket.

The pair each finished with 11 points as the balanced Upstate attack had five players score in double figures.

Kennesaw State went 0-for-8 with two turnovers in the final six minutes, but had a chance to steal the win when Spencer Dixon stripped USC Upstate's Ryan LeGates with 39 seconds left. The Owls sophomore missed the lay-up, which was rebounded by Kurtis Woods, but Woods was stripped of the ball by Josh Chavis.

In overtime, Markeith Cummings gave the Owls a lead when he drained a 3-pointer on their first possession.

Cummings, who scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, had his 18th consecutive double-digit scoring game of the season. Schnieders answered with a quick basket to trim the KSU lead to a 56-55.

After a scoreless 90 seconds, USC Upstate (2-15, 2-6) sandwiched a Woods jumper with lay-up by Pat Posey and a traditional three-point play by Mezie Uzochukwu for a 60-58 lead with 2:12 remaining.

The Owls would answer when Dixon, who had a game-high eight assists and was also the game's leading scorer, hit a short jumper to tie the game with 1:52 left.

LeGates hit a three-pointer on the Spartans next possession for a 63-60 lead and on Kennesaw States next possession, Heramb and Woods each missed potential game-tying 3-pointers. Uzochukwu made one of two free-throws for a 64-60 lead.

Kennesaw State's next possession saw the Owls crash the offensive boards after a pair of misses by Woods, but their third offensive rebound of the possession ended when Zadrian Gibson's shot was blocked by Schneiders, his fourth of the game, with nine seconds remaining.

The Owls led, 31-22, at the break, marking the second straight game in which they lead at halftime. Kennesaw State held USC Upstate scoreless over the final 4:42 seconds of the half and the first minute of the second half.

The Owls out-rebounded USC Upstate, 51-47, and held more than a 2-to-1 advantage on the offensive glass, 27-12, but again suffered through a poor shooting night. The Black and Gold connected on just 28 percent of their shots, going 24-for-85, from the field while the Spartans shot 47 percent on 27-of-58 shooting.

While USC Upstate went to the line 10 more times than the Owls, they made just two more shots as they went 4-for-14 from the line while KSU went 2-for-4. The Owls were outscored 34-16 in the paint, but connected on 12-for-29 from three-point range.

LaDaris Green had a game-high 13 rebounds for his second consecutive double-digit rebound effort while Jon-Michael Nickerson had five points and nine rebounds. Uzochukwu and Posey led Upstate with 13 points each while Uzochukwu grabbed 12 rebounds.

The loss was the Owls fifth consecutive conference loss while USC Upstate earned its second conference win of the season and snapped its 10 game losing streak.