DANBURY, CT - (Feb 14) - Valentine's Day turned out to be a heart-breaker for the Keene State men's basketball team.  Owl senior forward Nate Anderson (Westminster, MA)  scored a career-high 38 points, including his 1,000th career point, grabbed seven rebounds, and had four assists in a tough 107-103 loss to Western Con. State on Saturday.

 "I had a few rough games lately, so I just tied to take some easy shots at the start, said Anderson, who becomes the 28th men's basketball at KSC to reach the milestone.  "As the game went on, my confidence started to build."

"Scoring a 1,000-points means a lot to me," he added.  "I've worked very hard the past four years.  It's something I'll look back on with great pride.  But right now I'm more concened with finishing the season with a couple of wins and making a push in the LEC tournament."

Anderson's previous high was 27 points against Umass-Boston on Feb. 23, 2007.  His 38 points is the highest game total by a KSC player in LEC play.  Chris Coates held the mark with 37 against Umass-Dartmouth during the 2000-01 season.

Junior Tyshawn Gillespie (Hartford, CT) went scoreless in regulation, but had nine points in overtime to help the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team defeat the Owls.

Tyler Kathan (Ludlow, VT) scored 18 and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.  Tavonne Reid (Bridgeport, CT) and Derek D'Amours (Agawam, MA) each scored 10.

Freshman guard Daquan Brooks (Bristol, CT) scored 33 points to lead a balanced WestConn offensive attack that saw four different players score in double figures.  Senior guard Dashon Jennings (Bridgeport, CT) scored 25, including the 1,000th point of his four-year WestConn career late in the regulation.  Freshman center Leroy Mayers (Bronx, NY) scored 17 points and senior center Marcus Mann (Windwor, CT) added 10.  Freshman forward Gary Robinson (Torrington, CT) led the Colonials with eight rebounds, while Brooks grabbed six rebounds, handed out six assists, and had two steals.

The score throughout the first half remained very close with nine lead changes and eight ties.  Dashon Jennings hit a pair of free throws with one minute remaining in the half to give the Colonials a 42-39 advantage, but two Keene State free throws on the next possession narrowed the gap to 42-41 in favor of WestConn at intermission.

In the second half, WestConn built an early advantage and took a 61-50 lead on a layup by Leroy Mayers at the 13:55 mark.  Keene State fought back and tied the score 79-79 on a 3-pointer by Reid with just over four minutes remaining in regulation.  With 1:20 remaining, the Colonials pushed the lead back to five when a Brooks 3-pointer gave WestConn a 90-85 advantage.  Keene State's Anderson then hit a 3-pointer with :59 seconds remaining and tied the game when his jumper rattled in with :12 seconds left.  WestConn quickly inbounded the ball and with the clock running out, Gillespie's layup rolled around the rim and out to force overtime.

In the overtime period Gillespie took over the offense for WestConn.  With the Colonials trailing by one with a minute remaining, Gillespie drove through the Keene State defense, converted the lay-up, and was fouled.  His free throw gave WestConn a 105-103 lead.  Keene State was unable to score on the next possession and was forced to foul Dashon Jennings with four seconds remaining in the overtime period.  Jennings stepped to the line and calmly sank both free throws to make the final margin of victory 107-103 in favor of WestConn.

Keene State falls to 10-12 and also stand at 6-6 in the LEC. They will be at Eastern Conn. on Tuesday.