KEENE, N.H. 2/15/05 - Ben Maynard (Nobleboro, Me.) and Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) had 17 points each to lead the Keene State College men's basketball team to a 78-73 victory over Eastern Conn. State University in a Little East Conference game played Tuesday night in Keene.

Winners of eight of their last nine games, the Owls improve to 15-8 and 8-5 in the LEC. ECSU falls to 7-15 (3-10 LEC).

Joe Shaw (Concord, N.H.) connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Owls a 48-38 halftime lead. Maynard, David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.), and Sullivan combined for 33 of KSC's first half points. Matt Albon (Middlebury, Conn.), who hit all four of his three-point attempts, topped ECSU with 14 points.

With KSC nursing a 59-47 lead, the Warriors used a 15-4 run midway in the second half to cut the lead to one point (63-62) on a three-pointer by Geoffrey Richardson (Hartford, Conn.) at the 8:26 mark.

A steal and an acrobatic lay-up by Harley Davis (Newburyport, Mass.) gave KSC a 75-70 lead with 2:43 to play. After a three-pointer by Mike Bartunek (Durham, Conn.) cut the lead to 75-73, Albon, on ECSU's next possession, missed a lay-up that would have tied the score. On the Owls' next possession, Sullivan missed a shot giving the ball back to the Warriors with 29.8 seconds on the clock. Stallings missed a shot, and after a couple of tip attempts, Hickey pulled down the rebound for the Owls. Hickey hit one free throw on a flagrant foul and Maynard added a pair of free throws in the closing seconds as KSC held on for the win.

Davis and Sontag finished with 14 points each for KSC. Albon led ECSU with 17 points while Shiwon Davis (Stratford, Conn.), Bartunek, and Stallings added 11 points each. KSC has won the last eight meetings between the two teams.

KSC Associate Coach Brian Pickering coached the Owls in place of Head Coach Rob Colbert who missed the game due to a family matter.