KEENE, N.H. 11/25/2003- The Keene State College men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, a 79-75 setback to Endicott College, in a non-conference game played Tuesday night at Spaulding Gym.

Alphonse Michalski (Northampton, Mass.) had 20 points for the Owls, who were a victim of their own poor free throw shooting down the stretch.

KSC, which shot 22-for-37 from the line, enabled the pesky Gulls to stay close and eventually win the game.

The Owls took their last lead (70-69) on a steal and lay-up by Chris Timson (Beverly, Mass.) with 3:48 to play.

Despite missing several free throws that would have put them ahead, the Owls tied the scored at 73-all on a turnaround base-line jumper by Chris Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) with 1:55 to go. 

Jeremy Currier's (Hampstead, N.H.) jumper with 55 seconds left put Endicott up 75-73.  After Timson missed a pair of free throws after being fouled in the lane, Zach Ellis (Westford, Mass.) hit a pair from the line to make it 77-73 Endicott. 

Michalski was called on an offensive foul in the Owls next possession, and Ellis, who had 16 points for the Gulls, sealed the win with two more free throws.  Endicott hit 29 of its 32 shots from the line.

Three-pointers by Bennett Pawlusiak (Manchester, N.H.), Timson and Michalski in the closing seconds were all off the mark as KSC lost its first game of the season.

Timson had 12 points and nine rebounds and Ben Maynard (Nobleboro, Me.) had a strong game off the bench with 11 points and five rebounds for the Owls.

Nemanja Marinkovic and Currier finished with 15 points each for Endicott (2-1).

KSC plays Colby-College in the Jacob's Bridge New England Division III Challenge at New Hampshire Tech on Tuesday, Dec. 2.