'KEENE, N.H. 01/21/06 - Undefeated in the Little East Conference heading into the week, the Keene State College men's basketball suffered its second straight league setback, falling to R.I. College 75-67 in Providence on Saturday. 

The Owls (11-5, 5-2 LEC), upset victims to Eastern Conn. (83-74) on Tuesday, now find themselves tied with Plymouth State and UMass-Boston for the top spot in LEC.

Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, Me.) had 19 points and Kevin Payette (Woonsocket, R.I.) finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Anchormen (9-7, 3-4 LEC) who snapped a two game losing streak. 

The Owls were led by Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) with 15 points.  David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.) had 14 points and Matt Hickey (Mahopac, N.Y.) and Tyler Kathan (Ludlow, Vt.) finished with 12 points each.  Kathan also had seven rebounds.

Keene State, which shot just 31% from the field in the first half, fell behind 38-28 at the break.  Every time the Owls made a run in the second half, RIC had an answer.  The Anchormen led by as many as 19 points (59-40) in the half.  KSC ran off eight straight points to cut the lead to 11 (59-48) on a lay-up and free throw by Kathan at the 9:35 mark, but RIC pushed the lead back up to 16 points a couple of minutes later.

Keene State hit just four of 14 attempts from behind the arc and was out-rebounded by a 50-37 margin.

The Owls will look to get back on the winning track on Tuesday night when they host rival Plymouth State at Spaulding Gym (7:30 p.m.).