'KEENE, N.H. 12/3/05 -  David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.) scored 24 points and dished out six assists and  Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) had 21 points and eight rebounds to lead Keene State to a 99-86 victory over Rhode Island College at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.  It was the Little East opener for both teams. RIC (4-2, 0-1 LEC) was the topped ranked team in the LEC pre-season poll while KSC (5-0, 1-0 LEC) was second.

"They're ranked first in the LEC pre-season poll, so it's a big win for us," said Sullivan.  "They came out and hit some big shots, but then we settled down and played Keene State basketball."

The Owls broke open a tight game midway in the second half with a 12-2 run. The run featured back-to-back three-pointers by Carl Slate (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Sontag that put KSC up 79-68 with 7:09 remaining.

Kamari Williams (Springfield, Mass.) had 17 first half points as RIC took a one point lead (51-50) at the break.  Kaseem Johnson (New Haven, Conn.) gave RIC its biggest lead of the first half (42-31) on a baseline drive with 7:12 to play. KSC erased the lead, going ahead 43-42 at the 4:22 mark on a pair of free throws by Sullivan. 

Sullivan and Sontag had 12 first half points for the Owls.

Williams had a game-high 28 points to lead the Anchormen.  Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, Me.) added 21 points and eight rebounds.

Keene State hit 22-of 30 shots from the line and also forced 24 RIC turnovers in the game.

Keene State hosts Southern Vermont on Monday (7:30 p.m.).