'KEENE, N.H.  1/4/07 - Tyler Kathan (Westminster, Mass.) had 23 points and Nate Anderson (Westminster, Mass.) finished with 18 points and a game high 12 rebounds to lead the Keene State College men's team to an 82-73 non-conference victory over Northwestern College of St. Paul, Minn., at Spaulding Gym on Thursday night.

The Owls overcame an eight point halftime deficit (38-30) to pull out the win and improve their record 9-1.  

Northwestern led by as many as nine points (33-24), before settling for an eight point (38-30) halftime lead.  KSC got into early foul trouble enabling the eagles to pick up nine points (9-16) from the free throw line while the Owls missed their only attempt. Daniel Hanson (Plymouth, Minn.) had 15 first half points for the Eagles.  David Sontag (Mont Vernon) led the Owls with six points. 

A three-pointer by Kathan put KSC up 48-46 at the 14:21 of the second half.  The Owls didn't relinquish the lead the rest of the way.  NWC cut the lead to one point (53-52) on a hoop by Hanson, but KSC pulled a way from there. 

The Owls made some adjustments at halftime, abandoning the three-pointers and taking the ball inside.  "Once Kathan and Anderson started inside we were finally able to do some damage," he said.

"There was a sense of urgency," Anderson said.  "We finally realized we better start playing.  It gets me going once we get down a couple because I know I have to start performing out there."

KSC's full court pressure and ability to get the ball inside wore down the Eagles.  Travon Little (Danbury, Conn.) brought the crowd to its feet with a slam.  He later had a put back shot to give KSC an 11 point lead (69-58) with 3:58 to play.

Sontag finished with 11 points and seven assists for KSC, which hit 16 of its 18 shots from the line.  The Owls also had a 47-38 advantage on the boards. 

Hanson led Northwestern (9-3) with 23 points.  Dave Zuleger (Wausau, Wis.)added 14 points and Mike Anderstrom (Woodbury, Minn.) finished with nine rebounds. NWC, which also lost to Gordon College (87-82), finished its New England trip with a 0-2 record.

Keene State returns to Little East play on Sunday on when it travels to UMass-Boston to face the Beacons, which defeated the Owls in last year's LEC championship game.