WILLIMANTIC, Conn. - Sophomore guard Nick Nedwick (Irvington, NY) poured in six three-point field goals on the way to a career-high 36 points as the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team outgunned Keene State College, 91-86, in a conference game at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium on Tuesday night.

The Warriors roll up an 11-point lead late in the opening half. After a slow start, Derek D'Amours (Agawam, Mass.), the LEC's second-ranked scorer, scored 18 points in the second half on 6-of-15 shooting from the floor.

After scoring 14 points in the first half on 5-for-7 shooting from the floor, Nedwick turned it up a notch after the break by scoring 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting (4-for-4 from three-point range) as the Warriors withstood Keene's second half bid to gain revenge for a 20-point loss a year ago at Geissler Gym. Nedwick points came on a combination of long-range baskets and drive to the basket. (A 70 percent free-throw shooter, Nedwick missed five of nine free throws which may have cost him a 40-point night).

Eastern (13-3, 5-1 little east) maintained a share of the top spot in the conference with its fifth straight win - matching its season-opening winning streak. The Warriors and  defending conference regular-season champion Rhode Island College share the top spot. The Anchormen routed Western Connecticut State University, 81-65, Tuesday night in Danbury. Keene State (8-8, 2-4 little east) remains in sixth place in the eight-team conference.

By clicking on 13 of 17 shots from the floor (6-for-7 on three-pointers en route to his 36-point total, Nedwick paced five double-digit scorers as the Warriors recorded their first 90-point game of the year to outlast Keene, ranked seventh nationally by averaging 84 points per game. Junior forward Bill Roveto (South Windsor) pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds (nine in the first half) and dished out a career-high six assists, and junior forward Broderick Sawyer (Norwalk) blocked five shots for the second straight game. Behind Roveto, freshman guard Mike Garrow (Terryville) and sophomore guard Jamie Kohn (Columbia) the Warriors amassed a 49-33 advantage on the boards (nearly doubling Keene's total in the first half).

Garrow nearly doubled his season point total by tossing in 14 off the bench and pulling down eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Senior guard Edwin Ortiz (Hartford) - the conference leader in three-point field goals - had little room to operate against Keene freshman Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck), but scored eight of his 11 points in the second half. Sawyer and sophomore post player Jeremy Thompson (Berlin) contributed ten points

Behind three successive three-point field goals - two by D'Amours - Keene went on an 11-point run early in the second half to erase a five-point deficit and surge to a six-point lead. D'Amours' fourth three-point bomb of the half made it 68-62 midway through the second half. In a game which featured ten lead changes and ten ties, Keene led by two, 82-80, with three minutes left before Eastern had the final say.

Edwin dropped in a jumper to tie the game at 82-all, and Nedwick converted two free throws and a layup to give Eastern a four-point, 86-82 lead with 1:23 left. Eastern iced the win by connecting on five of six free throws over the final 24.4 seconds Ortiz (36-for-40/90 percent from the line this year) hit a pair with 24.4 seconds left and Kohn swished two with 14.7 seconds left to make it 90-86.

In addition to grabbing a team-high eight rebounds, Mariano led Keene with a season high 29 points - scoring 15 of his points on five three-pointers and six more on seven free throws. D'Amours took 21 shots from the floor and finshed with 21 points, while freshman forward Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, NY) added 13 points.  Keene scored 36 points on 12 three-point field goals.

Keene State hosts Lasell College on Thursday.

(Courtesy ECSU Sports Information)