FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.  12/19/11 – The last time the Keene State men's basketball team played a Division II team, President Bill Clinton was in the Whitehouse, Dr. Stanley J. Yarosewick occupied Keene State's white house – the Hale Building and Rob Colbert was riding shotgun on the Owls' bench, serving as an assistant to then head coach Phil Rowe.

The date was Feb. 20, 1997.  The Owls concluded their 11-year Division II association with a 66-57 loss to UMass-Lowell in the first-round of the New England Collegiate Conference tournament.

Playing against its first Division II opponent in 14 years, Keene State, now playing in Division III, had its hands full coping with the size and physical play of Nova Southeastern University, a Division II member of the Sunshine Conference, falling to the Sharks 83-70 at the Cruizin' Classic being held at NSU's Don Taft University Center in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Monday afternoon. 

"There size was remarkable across the board.  They didn't have a guy under 6-3, and physically they were much stronger than us," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.

The Owls held their own against Nova Southeastern in the first half.  While the Sharks were feasting from behind the arc, hitting five three-pointers in the first seven minutes of the game, Keene State stayed with NSU behind the shooting of junior Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) who scored all 12 of his points, including a couple of three-pointers, in the first half.  "I had a hot hand and felt pretty good early on," said Mariano. "I got some good three-point shots and we did a good job running our offense.  But they kept on answering back and it took a toll eventually."

Trailing by as many as eight points in the first half, Keene State whittled the deficit down to one point on two occasions, the last time coming with 3:07 to go on a free throw by senior Derek D'Amours (Agawam, Mass.) that made it 39-38. 

"The first half was a lot quicker. We got the tempo we wanted and they weren't able to expose the matchups as much," said Colbert.

NSU scored the final six points of the half to take a 45-38 lead to the locker room.

Getting the ball inside on a frequent basis, the Sharks pulled away from the Owls in the second half, taking a 60-46 lead with 14:27 to play. 

Looking to get back in the game, the Owls made one last run at Nova Southeastern midway in the half.  After senior Ollie Hunter (Bedford, N.H.) missed the second of his two free throw attempts, D'Amours sneaked in front to grab the rebound and hit a lay-up to cut the Sharks lead to nine points (69-60) with 9:09 to go.

While the Owls hit a dry spell, being held scoreless for the next six minutes, NSU continued to take advantage of its size in the paint, pushing its lead back up to 16 points (76-60) with 4:22 to play.  "They went with a much bigger line-up and deliberately pounded the basketball inside and if they didn't score, they rebounded very well and got to the foul line," said Colbert. "In the end, their size and our fatigue of having to play two days in a row caught up with us."

Despite the loss, Colbert was pleased with his teams' effort.  "I was proud of the kids and their approach to the game," he said. "We definitely competed at a real high level." 

D'Amours led the Owls with a game-high 19 points.  In addition to Mariano, junior Ryan Martin (Wayne, Me.) who had 11 points, and Hunter, who had 10 points, also finished in double figures for KSC. 

KSC lost the battle of the boards 41-35.  Junior Nicco DeMasco (Richmond, N.H.) came off the bench to pull down five rebounds.

Robert Huntington had 18 points to lead Nova Southeastern (5-5), which shot 55% (30-55) from the field. Teddy Tassy added 13 points and Iran Hollis finished with 12 points and a game best eight rebounds.

The Owls (7-3), who defeated Mount St. Vincent 106-99 in their first classic game on Sunday, return to Keene on Tuesday. 

Mariano said he's in no rush to return to the colder weather. "It's been real warm down here, so I wouldn't mind staying a few more days,' he said. 

Keene State is off until Thursday, Jan. 5 when it hosts Lasell College.