CONCORD, N.H. 11/15/10 - The new-look Keene State College men's basketball  team opened its season with a 73-67 win over Rivier College in the first of two games at the Jacob's Bridge Through Autism Tournament at NHTI in Concord on Monday night.

The Owls (1-0), who have seven new players on their roster, continued their winning ways, remaining undefeated (11-0) in the tournament.

"We had great effort and great energy and nice play from our bench," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "But I was really happy with the way we guarded."

While some of the new faces made significant contributions, it was two returnees, sophomores Ryan Bourgeois (Bedford, N.H.) and Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) that triggered a run with eight minutes to play in the second half that allowed the Owls to build up a lead and hold off the Raiders.  Mariano, the reigning Little East Rookie of the year, knocked down five three-pointers on the way to leading KSC with 18 points.  Bourgeois, who missed last season with a knee injury, finished with four points and four assists. Ollie Hunter (Bedford, N.H.), a junior transfer from St. Anselm, led Owl newcomers with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

A lay-up by Bourgeois in the closing seconds of the first half, allowed KSC to go to the locker room with a 36-32 lead.

The Owls, who played strong defense throughout the game, used a 12-1 spurt to pull away from Rivier. 

Leading 54-50 with 7:37 to play, the Owls began their run with a three-pointer by Mariano on an inbounds play.  Bourgeois followed with a left-handed scoop shot.  KSC got the ball back after a missed free throw by Bourgeois and sophomore Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) hit a lay-up to give the Owls their first double digit lead (61-50 with 6:47 to play. 

KSC kept their foot on the gas.  Bourgeois showed his passing skills, hitting Fazio down low to make it 63-50 and in their next possession finding sophomore Geoff Woodbury (Hyde Park, Mass.) in the corner for a three-pointer to give KSC a 66-51 lead. "We picked up our defensive intensity a little bit and that sparked our offensive run," said Bourgeois. "It was nice to be back on the court and help the team."

Colbert said the Owls offense came in the flow of the game. "Ryan really pushed the ball and was very unselfish. He's so quick. He demanded to be guarded and when he did, he found people for open shots." 

Mariano said the Owls are a different team this season. "I think it starts at the defensive end. We concentrated on defense in practice and it carried over to the game."

The Raiders made things interesting down the stretch, cutting the Owls lead to four points (71-67) on a put-back by freshman Don Poitras (Bow, N.H.) with 1:15 to go.

Rivier got the ball back on a KSC turnover, but senior Nick Bean's (East Longmeadow, Mass.) three-pointer rimmed out.  Owl sophomore guard Ryan Martin (Wayne, Me.)  grabbed the rebound and was fouled. He hit both of his attempts from the line to account for the final score.

Keene State shot just 41% from the field, but hit eight of its 16 three-point attempts and also had a wide 48-29 advantage on the boards. KSC did struggle at the line, hitting 11 of its 26 attempts. River shot 52% from the field but hit just three of its 12 shots from behind the arc.

Poitras had a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds to lead the Raiders (0-1).  Sophomore Elisha Robinson (Proctor, Vt.) added 13 points and Bean finished with 10 points.

It was first meeting on the court between the two teams since KSC defeated River 81-47 in a NCAA tournament opening round game in 2007.

Keene State faces Fitchburg State in the opening round of its tip-off tournament on Friday (7 p.m.). Rivier host Brad College in the Coca Cola Tournament on Friday (6 p.m.).