'KEENE, N.H. 2/11/06- The Keene State College men's basketball team kept its bid for first place in the Little East Conference alive with a 75-51 victory over Western Connecticut State University at Spaulding Gym on Saturday.

Winners of five of its last six games, KSC improves to 16-6 (9-3 LEC) while WCSU drops to 12-11 (4-8 LEC). With Plymouth State defeating UMass-Boston, KSC moves back into a tiem with UMB for the top spot in the LEC standings.

Freshman Tyler Kathan (Ludlow, Vt.) led all scorers with 22 points.  Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) had 10 points and Ben Maynard (Nobleboro, Me.) finished with a team-high nine rebounds.

Greg Cole (Terrytown, Conn.) had 16 points and six rebounds and Jamie Procino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) added 14 points to lead the Colonials.

The Owls finished the first half with a 12-4 run to take a 35-25 lead at the break. David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.) had eight first half points for KSC .  Procino matched him with eight points for WCSU.

KSC pulled away from WCSU by opening the second half with a 13-4 run.  Kathan's lay-up gave the Owls a 19 point lead (48-29) at the 15:36 mark. 

The Owls swept the season series against the defending LEC champs, winning 94-70 in Danbury.

Before the game, KSC honored its four seniors; Matt Craig (Terryville, Conn.) and Adam Gervais (Chelsea, Me.), Sullivan and Maynard.

"It was an emotional day and I was glad that we were able to get them all on the floor together at the end of the game," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "They represented the school with a lot of class."

"We took care of businesses today and now we have to go on the road," he added.  "We'll take them one at a time and hopefully these kids will play home again."