BALTIMORE, MD. 1/5/11 – The Keene State College men's basketball team saw its late-game rally come up short, falling to Richard Stockton (N.J.) College 82-77 in the championship game of the Johns Hopkins University Blue Jay Invitational in Baltimore on Tuesday.

The Owls, who saw their five game winning streak come to end, fall to 9-2.  The Ospreys improve to 8-4.

Trailing by 16 points (73-57) with 6:29 to play, Keene State mounted a furious comeback to get back into the game.  Unable to buy a three-point basket in their first 20 attempts, the Owls finally connected from behind the arc with 6:21 to go when Ryan Martin scored to cut the deficit to single digits 73-64.

The basket ignited an 11-2 run by the Owls.  A circus shot off the glass and free throw by junior Derek D'Amours (Agawam, Mass.) cut the lead to 75-71.  Following a steal by junior Cody Snow (Leyden, Mass.), sophomore Ryan Bourgeois (Bedford, N.H.) hit a lay-up to make it a two-point game (75-73) with 1:16 to go.

After each team traded free throws, senior Kai Massaquoi made a conventional three-point play with two seconds left on the shooting clock and 28 seconds in the game to put the Ospreys up 80-75.  Bourgeois hit a couple of free throws with  23 second to play to make it 80-77, but junior Pat Kelly answered with a two free throws at the other end of the floor to give RSC a 82-77 lead.

"We got some open shots, but just couldn't put the ball in the basket," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert after the game.  "I thought our shot selection could've been better."

"We made a run, however we were just out of sorts all day," he added.  "Hopefully, we'll learn from this - how to guard an athletic team and how to respond to adversity. We need to understand what it takes to win a game like this."

Junior Ollie Hunter (Bedford, N.H.) and Martin represented KSC on the all-tournament team.  Hunter had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Martin also finished with 16 points.  D'Amours, who struggled to find his shot all day, had 11 points.  He needs three points to reach the 1,000-career point milestone. Sophomore Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.) chipped in with seven rebounds and five blocks.

Massaquoi, who was selected as the tournament's MVP, finish with a game high 19 points.  Junior DiAndre Brown and Kelly each had 15 points while Nnamdi Usuwa added 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Usually efficient from behind the arc, KSC hit just two of its 26 three-point shots. They shot 39% (25-64) from the field and were 25-28 (89%) from the line.

The Owls, who got into foul trouble early, sent the Ospreys to the line throughout the game. They hit 26 of 37 shots from the stripe.

Keene State returns to Little East Conference play on Saturday when it travels to Rhode Island College.