KEENE, N.H. 1/15/11 – A second half rally by the Keene State College men's basketball team came up short on Saturday with the Owls falling to the Corsairs 106-100 in Little East Conference play at Spaulding Gym.

The Owls drop to 10-4 and 3-2 in the LEC.  UMD improves to 6-9 and 3-2 in league play.

Sophomore Ryan Martin (Wayne, Maine,) who hit all 12 of his free throw attempts, finished with 23 points and sophomore Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) added 22 points for the Owls.

Colin Burns (Chepachet, R.I.), who hit a couple of key three-pointers and several shots from the line down the stretch, paced the Corsairs with a game high 28 points.

The Owls found themselves down by 10 points (31-21) following seven straight points by freshman Jon Pavao (Fall River, Mass.). A corner three-pointer by Burns capped an 8-1 spurt that extended the Corsairs lead to 17 points (39-22) with 4:35 to play in the half.

After UMD took its biggest lead of the half (49-31) on a lay-up by freshman Kadeem Wint (Dorchester, Mass.), KSC scored the final six points of the half to make it a 51-37 game at the break.  The Corsairs had the three –ball flying, hitting nine of its 18 shots from behind the arc.

The Corsairs continued their offensive in the second half.  Burns hit a breakaway lay-up to give UMD a 66-47 lead at the 15:49 mark.

Junior Steve Boudreau (North Andover, Mass.) helped ignite a mild run for the Owls midway in the second half.  His fourth hoop of the half cut the Corsairs lead to 16 points with 11:15 to go.  KSC kept the pressure on the Corsairs.  Following a steal by junior Ollie Hunter (Bedford, N.H.), junior Cody Snow (Leyden, Mass.) had a slam to make it 82-69 game with 8:20 to go.   

Martin then took over.  After finding sophomore Nicco DeMasco (Richmond, N.H.) down low for a basket, he hit a pair of free throws and then a lay-up to cut the Corsairs lead to single digits (87-80) with 4:08 to play.

Burns hit a couple of key three-pointers, the last from the left corner to give UMD a 95-85 lead with 2:11 to play.

The owls made one last run at UMD.  Martin hit two free throws to cut the gap to four points (95-91) with 1:09 to play.  KSC put Burns at the line.  He made a pair to make it 97-91.  Following a layup by junior Alex Klepadlo (Bernardston, Mass.), Martin hit a three-pointer to make it 99-94 with 16 second to go.  Senior Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, Mass.) made one free throw. However, Mariano was fouled knocking down a three. He hit the free throw to make it 100-98 with 28 seconds to go. 

Burns went to the line and made one free throw to make it 101-98 with 27.7 seconds left on the clock.   After junior Derek D'Amours missed a three-pointer from the corner, Burns made a pair at the line to give UMD a 103-98 lead with 16.9 to go.  Martin would hit a couple from the line to make it 103-100 with 11.9 on the clock. Freshman Emmanuel Tarwoe (Worcester, Mass.) made one free throw to push UMD's lead up to 104-100.  Martin missed a straight up three pointer and UMD held on for the 106-100 win. 

KSC Coach Rob Colbert was disappointed in his team's defensive play. "We didn't defend anybody and they made a lot of open shots," he said.  "I'm proud of the kids for fighting, but you can't spot an LEC team 51 points in the first half."

D'Amours, who scored 19 points and Boudreau, who netted a season high 10 points, also finished in double figures for the Owls.  DeMasco had a game high 11 rebound to go with his seven points.

Stephens and Pavao each scored 15 points and junior Justin Pulver (Plymouth, Mass.) added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Corsairs, who hit 15 of their 33 attempts from behind the arc.

Both teams have LEC games on Tuesday.  The Owls host ECSU and UMD is home against UMass-Boston.