KEENE, N.H. 2/3/2001 - The Keene State College men's basketball team posted one of its biggest wins in the program's history on Saturday, a 100-81 upset victory over UMass-Dartmouth before 1,800 fans at Spaulding Gym.
The victory over the Corsairs, which came into the game ranked 17th nationally and first in the Northeast Region, moves the Owls (15-5, 9-1 LEC) into the top spot in the Little East Conference. UMass-Dartmouth (18-2, 8-2 LEC) saw its 13-game winning streak come to an end.
Chris Coates (Hampton, N.H.) had a game-high 37 points and 13 rebounds and Chris Timson (Beverly, Mass.) came off the bench to net 16 points to lead the Owls. Dave Stantial (Beverly, Mass.) also had 12 points and nine rebounds for KSC.
Ranked third in the region, Keene State jumped out to a 17-4 lead on a basket by Coates at the 14:24 mark. UMD closed the gap to five (38-33) on a three-pointer by Frank Barrows (Dartmouth, Mass.) with 4:42 to go in the half, but Coates, who had 22 first half points, answered with a three-pointer at the buzzer to give KSC a 13-point (47-34) lead at the break.
The Owls put the game away early in the second half. Leading by 14 (50-36), KSC went on a 21-5 run to go ahead 61-41 wtih 15:47 to play. The run featured two three-point hoops by
Kyle Purinton (Northwood, N.H.), and single treys by Coates and
Fred Fieldhouse (Somers, Conn.).
"We don't match up with them physically inside, so we wanted to make them beat us from outside," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert. "We've had a tough time coming out of the blocks of late, but today ur shots were falling and we were fortunate to be able to build up a lead."
"This is a big win for the program," he added. "We want the conference championship to come through Keene."
Nick Cecilio (Centerville, Mass.) had 22 points and 10 rebounds and Marques Houtman (New Bedford, Mass.) added 17 points for the Corsairs. Houtman, a senior, netted his 1,000th career point at the 9:09 mark of the second half on a free throw.
Keene State will face rival Plymouth State on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.) in Plymouth.
