'NEW LONDON, CONN. 1/25/07 - Tyler Kathan had a game-high 21 points and Nick Drouin finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Keene State to a 79-69 non-conference men's basketball victory over Mitchell College on Thursday night.

For the second game in a row, the 23rd ranked Owls (16-2) had to overcome a first-half deficit to pull out the victory.  Trailing by 12 (35-23) at the 5:01 mark, the Owls regrouped to cut their lead to four points (40-36) at halftime.  

KSC took its first lead of the game (49-48) on a three-pointer by Kathan four minutes into the second half. The Owls built up their lead to nine points on two occasions, but Mitchell didn't go down easy.  Mitchell cut the lead to two points (71-69) with 2:34 to play.

The Owls scored the last eight points of the games. Matt Hickey hit a three-pointer; Drouin had a couple of baskets, including a dunk, as KSC pulled a way for the road victory.

Kathan hit eight of his 11 shots from the field and Travon Little, who finished with 10 points, connected on five of his seven shots as KSC shot 52 % from the field.

Kendall Lanham led Mitchell (7-9) with 20 points.

KSC returns to LEC play on Saturday when it travels to UMass-Dartmouth for a 3 p.m. game.