GORHAM, ME 1/26/02- Chris Urquhart (Salem, NH) hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Keene State College men's basketball team a dramatic 88-86 Little East Conference win over the University of Southern ME on the road in Gorham, ME on Saturday.

With the victory, Keene State improves to 16-1 and remains undefeated (9-0) in conference play. The Owls also extended their winning streak to a school-record 13 games. USM drops to 8-11 (3-6 LEC).

Trailing 86-85 with six seconds left to play, Bennett Pawlusiak (Bedford, NH) drove down the court and dished the ball to Urquhart, who was standing just to the left of the circle and three feet behind the arc. The sophomore guard let fly the three-pointer hitting nothing but net and preserving the Owls' winning streak.

"The play was designed for (Dave) Stantial, but they doubled him up," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert. "Bennett made a great decision by getting the ball to Urquhart who was trailing the play and was unguarded."

Keene State had to play catch-up the entire game. Trailing by as much as 16 points (42-26) late in the first half, Keene State utilized its pressure defense to get back into the game. "I knew the only way we were going to get back was to use our pressure and try to wear them down with our depth," Colbert said.

The Owls' strategy worked as KSC gradually whittled down the Huskies lead. The took their first lead of the game on a three-pointer by Urquhart (69-68) with 7:30 to play.

There were multiple lead changes down the stretch. With 32 seconds to go Pawlusiak gave KSC a 85-84 lead when he hit a driving lay-up and the subsequent foul shot. Jason St. Pierre turned the ball back over to Keene when he stepped on the endline. But when Pawlusiak missed a short jumper, USM had the ball with 11 seconds to play.

Jeff White, who finished with a game high 28 points, hit a spin move in the lane to put the Huskies back on top 86-85, setting the stage for Urquhart's heroics.

"I rather be lucky than good," said Colbert. "We didn't play well, but you can't argue with the effort."

Chris Timson led the Owls with 23 points followed by Stantial with 16 points and Urquhart, who finished with 10 points. St. Pierre added 20 points and eight rebounds for USM.

Keene State travels to Tufts University on Tuesday for a non-conference game (7 p.m.) against the Jumbos.

Keene State receiving votes in most recent d3hoops.com Top 25 poll (Jan. 20).