KEENE, N.H. 11/19/10 – The Keene State men's basketball team had a smashing Spaulding Gym debut, racing to a crowd-pleasing 109-74 victory over Fitchburg State University in the opening game of the KSC Adrenaline Circuit men's basketball tip-off tournament on Friday night.

                Keene State will play Conn. College in Saturday's championship game at 7p.m.  Conn. College defeated Fisher College 69-66 in the second first-round game.  Fisher will take on Fitchburg College in the consolation game (5 p.m.).  KSC is looking to regain the tip-off title. The Owls saw their string of nine straight championships snapped by Thomas College last year.

                The Owls (2-0) had five players score in double-figures. Sophomore Ryan Martin (Wayne, Me.) led a balanced attack with 15 points. Sophomores Nicco DeMasco (Richmond, N.H.) and Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.) had double-double performances.  DeMasco had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Wright had 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Sophomore Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) with 13 points and freshman John Boyatsis (Dover, N.H.) with 11 points, to round out the double-figure scores for KSC.

                Sophomore Adam Fahey (Auburn, Mass.) had 15 points and junior Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass.) added 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Fitchburg State (0-2).

                The Owls led by as many as 12 points in the first half, following a top of key three-pointer by Martin at the 6:09 mark, one of his three baskets from behind the arc in the half.  The Falcons went on a 12-3 run, cutting KSC's lead to three points (39-36) on a jumper by Rolffi Canela (Perth Amboy, N.J.) with 1:25 to go.  Sophomore Ollie Hunter (Bedford, N.H.) hit a base-line drive at the buzzer to give the Owls a 44-38 halftime lead.  Fahey had 12 first-half points for FSC.

                The Owls pulled away from the Falcons midway in the second half. Leading by 11 (61-50), the Owls scored 13 straight points to go up 74-50 with 11:34 to play.  The run included a traditional three-point play by Wright, put-back lay-ups by junior Orlando Echevarria (Chelsea, Mass.) and DeMasco and a three-pointer by sophomore Ryan Bourgeois (Bedford, N.H.). Wright put an exclamation point on the victory with a down the lane slam that put the Owls ahead by 31 points with 5:59 to play.

                "I was three out of four," said Wright, who had one of his dunk attempts hit off the back of the rim and fly high into the air.  "That's part of my game. I try to finish strong.  We have a lot of new players this year.  Coach wants us to get up-and-down and use the tools we have.  That's what we're doing."

                "I had a bad game against Rivier, so I just wanted to step it up tonight," said DeMasco. "I wanted to go after every ball and knock down some shots." 

                "I was pleased with the multiple contributions and how we opened the game up," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "I thought fatigue became a definite issue. We brought guys off the bench who were fresh and kept us going."    

                The Owls shot 51% from the field (42-82) and hit 13 of their 31 three-pointers (42%), KSC outrebounded FSC 62-42. The Falcons were 22-75 from the field (29%) and knocked down nine of its 27 three-point attempts.

                Conn. College (1-0) earned a spot in the championship game with a 69-66 win over Fisher College. Sophomore Rob Harrigan (Milford, Conn.) had a game high 20 points and freshman Matt Vadas (Lake Heights, N.J.) finished with 14 points, including several key hoops down the stretch, to lead the Camels to their opening game victory.

                Senior Casey Pursell (Seattle, Wash.) had 19 points, senior Louis Williams (Burlington, Vt.) added 16 points, and senior Oscar Brown (Buffalo, N.Y.) finished with 13 points and eight rebound to lead Fisher College (1-5).  

                Holding a slim 26-24 lead at halftime, the Camels scored the first nine point of the second half to go up 35-24 on a lay-up by sophomore Pete Banos (Trumbull, Conn.).  After a breakaway lay-up by Williams (Burlington, Vt.) cut the Camels' lead to four (44-40) with 9:30 to play, Conn. College pushed it lead up to nine (59-50) on seven consecutive points by Vadas with 4:32 to play. Freshman Taylor Hanson (Saint Paul, Minn.) made a lay-up for the Camels to make 67-59 and Harrigan had a key tip-in in the closing seconds as Conn. College held on for the win.