'NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASS. 12/10/05 - Carl Slate (North Attleboro, Mass.) made three clutch free throws with no time remaining to give the Keene State College men's basketball team a come-from-behind 83-82 victory over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth in a Little East Conference game played Saturday at Tripp Athletic Center. 

With the victory, KSC improves to 7-1 and 2-0 in Little East play, while UMass Dartmouth falls to 4-4, 1-1 in conference. 

The Owls called time out with 4.2 seconds left after freshman Reece Freeman's (Cambridge, MA) jump shot from just inside the three-point line had given UMass Dartmouth an 82-80 lead. KSC's David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.) got the ball across half court and dished it to Slate, who launched a jump shot from well beyond the arc that missed as time expired. But a foul was whistled against Corsair backup center Charlie Large (Sr. Easton, MA), and Slate went the line and made three free throws as the KSC bench erupted in celebration.

The Corsairs had battled back from a 41-34 halftime deficit, taking a 76-73 lead on a jump shot by sophomore guard A.J. Tavares (New Bedford, MA) and two free throws by junior forward Stephane Abelard (Brockton, MA) with 4:15 remaining.

UMD held the lead until Sontag made a jumper with 1:09 left to give the Owls an 80-79 advantage. Junior forward Paul Pawlowski (Taunton, MA) made a free throw to tie the game with 53 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Abelard intercepted a pass and Freeman's jumper gave the Corsairs their last lead.

Abelard and junior guard Devon Maiorano (Rehoboth, MA) led the Corsairs with 19 points each, Pawlowski added 15, Holbrook had 11 and Tavares chipped in with 10.

Sontag led all scorers with 22 points, Adam Gervais (Chelsea, Me.) added 14, Slate, who was making his first start this season, had 12 and Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) contributed 11. Holbrook had 10 rebounds as the Corsairs won the battle of the boards, 36-26.

Keene State is off until Thursday, December 29 when it faces Plattsburgh (N.Y.) State in the Montclair State Tournament in New Jersey. The Corsairs will return to action when they host Johnson & Wales on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.).

(Courtesy of UMD Sports Information)