KEENE, N.H. 11/27/12 – Springfield College overcame a eight point halftime deficit to defeat Keene State College 75-72 in non-conference men's basketball action at Spaulding Gym on Tuesday night.

Senior Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) had a season high 16 points to lead the Owls, who fall to 2-2.  A preseason All-American, Springfield senior Alex Berthiaume (Springfield, Mass.) led all scorers with 21 points as the Pride (4-0) remains undefeated. 

"There's no reason to play teams that aren't going to challenge us," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "Hat's off to Springfield. I thought they really competed."

Berthiaume showed off his range, hitting a couple of long-range bombs, including one from four feet behind the arc to give the Pride an early lead. 

Later in the half, Keene State's preseason All-American senior Ryan Martin (Wayne, Me.) knocked down his third three-pointer of the half to cap a 12-4 run that put the Owls up 30-24.  Fazio finished off a conventional three-point play, hitting a lay-up and a free throw in the closing seconds to stake Keene State to a 36-28 lead at halftime.

Ryan Martin picked up his third foul less than two minutes in the second half sending him to the bench.  After missing the first three games with an arm injury, junior John Boyatsis (Dover, N.H.) hit a three-pointer from the left corner tom make it 44-38.

The Pride remained persistent, taking a 48-46 lead on a breakaway lay-up by senior Jordan Rote (Sheffield, Mass.) at the 11:56 mark.  

The game wasn't settled until the final minutes of play. 

A pull-up baseline jumper by Ryan Martin knotted the score at 65-all with 2:56 to play.  Fazio later added a free throw to give KSC a one point lead 66-65.

Senior Pat Rossi (Rock Tavern, N.Y.) hit a key three-pointer to give the Pride back the lead 68-66 with 1:46 to go.

Senior Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.) answered for the Owls with a tip-in of a missed shot that tied the score at 68-all with 1:24 remaining.

Rote missed a jumper, but junior Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Conn.) grabbed the rebound and was fouled.  He hit both of shots to give Springfield a 70-68 lead.

After Wright missed a jump hook, Ryan Martin fouled junior Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) who hit both his attempts from the line to put the Pride up 72-68 with 27 seconds to play.

KSC's Ryan Martin raced down the court and hit a jumper to cut the lead to 72-70 with 22 seconds on the clock. Freshman Jesse La Croix (Orange, Mass.) intentionally fouled Rote, who hit the second of his two free throws to make it 73-70 with 20 seconds to go.

Frantically looking to get open, Ryan Martin had to settle for an off-balanced jumper from the right corner that hit off the rim. "We did what we wanted to do.  We got the shot that we wanted, but Ryan chose to pass it up," said Colbert.   It was disappointing.  I don't think we executed particularly well against their zone. Many times we were one and done. We also had some unfortunate turnovers that led to scores down the other end."

Rote sealed the win with a couple of free throws that gave the Pride a 75-72 lead. 

Ryan Martin scored 15 points and senior Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) had 11 points for the Owls.  Wright pulled down a season high 15 rebounds (one off his career high) to go with nine points and three blocks.

Sean Martin scored 14 points, Rote had 12 points and Rossi finished with 10 points for the Pride.

Keene State was 22-57 from the field (39%), 8-22 from behind the arc (36%) and hit 20-26 shots from the line (77%)

The Owls had a slim 40-38 advantage on the boards.

Keene State begins its Little East Conference schedule on Saturday at UMass-Dartmouth (3 p.m.).