KEENE, N.H. 1/22/13 – Eastern Conn. State outscored Keene State College 7-2 over the final 4:25 of the game on the way to posting a 62-57 Little East Conference victory over the Owls at Spaulding Gym on Tuesday night.

            Keene State (10-7, 5-3), which saw its two game winning streak come to an end, falls into fourth place in the conference. With the win, Eastern Conn. (13-5, 7-1LEC) remains tied for first place in the LEC standings with Rhode Island College.

            "We didn't shoot or rebound particularly well.  We missed a ton of shots that usually go in," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert. "Give credit to Eastern, I though they did a real nice winning a very physical game."

            The loss put a damper on a strong performance by Keene State senior Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.) who finished with game-high 19 and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.  Wright, who was 9-13 from the field, also had two blocks and a steal in the game.  Senior Ryan Martin (Wayne, Maine) also finished in double figures with 11 points.

            Freshman Trachone Preston (Enfield, Conn.) finished with 17 points including a key jumper down the stretch to lead the Warriors. Senior Chris Robitaille (Canton, Conn.) added 16 points and nine rebounds.

            Keene State jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on a three-pointer Martin from the left corner. Eastern came right back, taking a 12-10 lead on a tip-in by senior Tyler Hundley (Cheshire, Conn.).

            Going to Wright down on the box, the Owls big-man responded with three straight buckets to put KSC up 21-18.

            The Warriors came back with an 11-1 run, going up 29-22 on a pull-up jumper by junior Mike Garrow (Terryville, Conn.) at the 3:04 mark. 

            A nothing-but-net three-pointer by Martin in the closing seconds cut the Warriors lead to 32-28.  But a couple of free throws in the closing seconds by Garrow, who had 12 first half points, made it a six point game (34-28) at the half.    

            KSC went outside and inside during a 10-run to take the lead.  Martin and freshman Tre' Tipton (Stamford, Conn.) knocked down consecutive treys and Wright and junior Montel Walcott (New Haven, Conn.) hit inside hoops to put KSC back on top 41-38 at the 15:02 mark. A baseline jumper by senior Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, Conn.) opened the Owls lead to 47-40. Wright put an exclamation point on the run, going down a wide open lane for a slam that made it 49-40 with 10:40 to go.

            The Warriors answered with 10-1 run, tying the game (50-all) on a trey by junior Brain Salzillo (North Haven, Conn.)  

            Eastern took a 59-55 lead on a jumper by sophomore Brandon Yarborough (Stamford, Conn.) with 3:32 to go. 

            Looking to cut the lead to two points, Martin picked up a loose ball and headed down court.  But he was called for an offensive foul, giving the ball back to the Warriors. Salzillo missed a jumper but Robitaille grabbed the rebound giving ECSU a fresh shooting clock with 1:23 to go.

            Preston took advantage of the possession, going around a screen and hitting a jumper to give the Warriors a 61-55 lead with 55 seconds remaining.

            After Mariano missed a three-pointer, Wright hit a put-back and was fouled. A lane violation was called on his free throw, so it remained a four point game (61-57) with 13.2 seconds to go.  KSC pressed on the inbounds play.  Garrow was fouled and hit one of two free throws, making it 62-57. 

            Garrow scored 13 points and Salzillo added 10 points for the Warriors.

            KSC had a slight 39-33 advantage on the boards.

            KSC shot 23-61 (38%) from the field, went 6-16 (38%) from behind the arc and 5-10 (50%) from the line.  Eastern shot 21-47 (45%) from the field, hit 4-14 of its three-point shots and was 16-26 at the charity stripe.

           Keene State is at UMass-Boston on Saturday (3 p.m.)