CONCORD, N.H. 11/27/07 - The Keene State men's basketball team improved its record to 4-0 with a 76-60 victory over instate rival Colby Swayer College at the Eighth Annual Jacobs' Bridge Through Autism Classic at N.H. Technical Institue in Concord on Tuesday night. 

The Owls have never lost a game at the Classic.  Colby-Swayer falls to 2-1.

Keene State was led by a pair of senior forwards.  Nick Drouin (Weare, N.H.), who hit eight of 13 from the field, had 19 points and nine rebounds and Travon Little (Danbury, Conn.) added 18 points and 10 rebounds.  After a slow start, junior forward Tyler Kathan finished with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Drouin said he enjoyed coming back the the NHTI court where he plays summer league games.  "I love coming down here to play," said Drouin, who provided the Owls with a spark off the bench.  "It wasn't pretty, but its another win under our belt."

Duncan Szeliga had 17 points and Dave Russo finished with 13 points for the Chargers.

A late 9-0 run in the first half enabled the Owls to head to the locker room with a 33-26 lead.  Shiwon Davis (Bridgeport, Conn.) knocked down a three-pointer and Travon Little (Danbury, Conn.) slammed home a thunderous alee-oop lay-up in the spurt.

Kathan, who didn't score his first points of the game until the midway point of the second half, had a strong two handed dunk to put the Owls up 44-35 with 10:40 to play.  A put back by Little made it 55-43 at the 6:30 mark, and Kathan nailed a three-pointer as KSC went ahead 60-45 with 5:45 to play.

Both teams struggled behind the arc.  KSC was four of 10 while CSC was two of 15.  The foul line was the place to be during the game.  The Owls hit 21 of 31 shots while the Chargers were succesfull in 20 of 26 attemps.

Despite the win, KSC Coach Rob Colbert was dissapointed with the play of his team.  "We didn't get into our rythym and Colby-Swayer took a way our transition game," he said. "We'll need to play a lot better on Saturday against Southern Maine."

Keene State hosts the USM Huskies in its first LEC game of the season on Saturday (3 p.m.).  Prior to the game, KSC will honor its 2003-04 Elite-Eight NCAA Tournament team with a baner raising ceremony.