DANBURY, CONN. 2/14/2004 - The Keene State College men's basketball team took a major step in clinching first place in the Little East Conference and securing the top seed in the post-season tournament with a 96-76 victory over two-time defending conference champs Western Connecticut State University in Danbury on Saturday.

Sophomore forward Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) had a game and career-high 22 points to lead the Owls (18-5, 11-1), who bounced back from their first LEC loss of the season against Plymouth State University on Tuesday.

Sullivan hit 10 of his 14 shots from the field.  Matt Wheeler (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) and Alphonse Michalski (Northampton, Mass.) each finished with 21 points while Chris Timson (Beverly, Mass.) added 19 points in a balanced Owl offense.

"I thought we were very aggressive offensively, and took away some of the things they like to do with our strong defensive play," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "I'm glad how the team responded after the loss against Plymouth State."

Leading by three points (23-20) at the 9:54 mark, Keene State outscored WCSU 27-10 to grab a 20 point lead (50-30) with 1:24 to play in the first half.  Matt Wheeler led the Owl assault with 17 first half points.   KSC was ahead by 15 (52-37) at the break.

The Colonials closed the gap to 10 points (67-57) on a three-pointer by Jay Reginatto at 13:25 of the second half.  But KSC responded with a 12-6 run over the next five minutes to push the lead back up to 16 points (79-63) on a free throw by Michalski.

"We didn't buckle when they came close," said Colbert, who applauded the play by Wheeler and Sullivan. 

Wheeler had a team-high eight rebounds while Michalski finished with seven assists.  KSC shot 53% percent from the field and hit seven-of-14 three-point attempts.

Greg Cole topped WCSU (13-9, 7-5 LEC) with 17 points, including five treys.

It was KSC's first win at the Feldman Arena since an 83-63 victory Jan. 9, 2001.

Keene State will be at Eastern Conn. on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.).