KEENE, N.H.  1/10/12 – Senior guard DaQuan Brooks (Atlanta, Georgia,) brought his one-man basketball show to Spaulding Gym on Tuesday night, scoring a career high 46 points, including 30 in the second half, to lead #23 ranked Western Conn. State University to a 94-87 Little East Conference victory over Keene State College.

            Brooks displayed his offensive wizardry throughout the game, driving to the hoop, pulling up for jumpers, and knocking down long-range three-point shots.  He is just four points shy from becoming the Colonials all-time leading scorer. 

            Junior Ryan Martin (Wayne, Maine), who finished with 24 points for the Owls, had the tough task of guarding Brooks most of the night. "He's quick, he's a good shooter and it's tough chasing him off screens, said Martin.  "He always has his hands on the ball too, so it's a tough assignment.  We contested a lot of his shots, but he made a lot of tough shots. He's just a good player."

            "DaQuan can flat out play,' said KSC Coach Rob Colbert. "He just put them on his back and made big play after big play.  We tried different match-ups on him but he got loose and he got to the foul line too many times. He's really hard to cover when you can't touch him."

            Brooks scored 15 of the Colonials' 31 baskets from the field and 11 of his team's 21 free-throws.  He was 15-30 from the field (50%), 5-13 from behind the arc (38%) and a perfect 11-11 from the line.  Brooks did it all, finishing with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

            It was the first LEC loss for the Owls (9-4, 3-1 LEC) while Western Conn. (13-1, 4-0) extended its winning streak to 11 games.  The game, which featured the top two offenses in the LEC, lived up to its billing.

            The Colonials jumped out to a 15-2 lead four minutes into the game.  Trailing 17-6, the Owls got back in the game with a 12-4 run, getting to within four (22-18) on a basket by junior Tyler Grillo (Saugus, Mass.) at the 8:52 mark.  KSC scored the final six points of the half with Grillo finding junior Nicco DeMasco (Richmond, N.H.) for a lay-up in traffic in the closing seconds to cut the deficit to just one point (41-40) at the break.

            Switching gears and running an up-tempo offense, the Owls pulled ahead early in the second half, taking a 55-47 lead on a lay-up and free throw by junior Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.). 

            After freshman Tom Doyle (Wallingford, Conn.)  hit a jumper to give KSC a 72-71 lead, the Colonials took the lead for good (74-72) on a three-pointer by Brooks.  A long three-pointer from five feet behind the arc by Brooks later in the half, put WCSU up 84-73 with 3:24 to play.

            Keene State made one final run, cutting the lead down to four points (89-85) on a three-pointer by Mariano with 1:13 to play, but free throws from Brooks sealed the win for the Colonials.

            "We have to make more shots," said Colbert after the game.  "We stalled at times and they punish you. They're a real good basketball team, but I still think we can beat them." 

            Mariano, who found the range late in the game finished with 16 points for the Owls.  Doyle scored a season high 11 points while junior Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.) and Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, Vt.) each had 10 points.  Sophomore Montel Wolcott (New Haven, Conn.) and Fazio each pulled down a team high seven rebounds.

            Junior Ryan Pelletier (Wolcott, Conn.) scored 14 points and senior Gary Robinson had a game high eight rebounds for Western Conn.  The Colonials out-rebounded the Owls 42-35.

            Both teams lived at the line.  Western was 28-35 (80%) while KSC was 21-25 (84%).

            KSC and WCSU resume LEC play on Saturday with the Owls hosting RIC and the Colonials traveling to Plymouth State for 3 p.m. games.