GORHAM, MASS. 11/23/13 – It was a tale of two halves for the Keene State College men's basketball team at the Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine on Saturday.  Leading 38-25 at the half, the Owls couldn't hold on, losing 74-67 to the University of Southern Maine 74-67 in the Little East Conference opener for both teams.

Keene State remains winless on the season at 0-3 and is 0-1 in the LEC. The win is the third straight for Southern Maine, which improves its record to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Little East Conference.  It's the first time since the 1996-97 season, the Owls have begun their season with three straight loses.

Sophomore guard Nick Gagliolo (Peabody, Mass.) led the Owls with 15 points.  Freshman guard Lucas Hammel (Methuen, Mass.) and sophomore Tre Tipton (Stamford, Conn.) each scored 12 points.  Hammell had five assists, while Tipton had two assists and a pair of steals.  Sophomore Nate Howard (Cheshire, Conn.) added nine points, a career high 22 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Senior Conor Sullivan (Scarborough, Maine) scored a game-high 20 points and junior guard Kyle Pluchino (Coral Springs, Fla.) had a monster second-half, with 16 points, eight assists and five steals, to lead the Huskies. 

Led by freshman guard Matt Sherlock's (Melrose, Mass.) nine first half points, on a 3-for-3 mark from beyond the arc, the Owls led USM comfortably 38-25 at the break.  Trailing 15-12 with 11:13 left in the half, the Owls surges ahead in the final 10 minutes, outscoring the Huskies 26-10. Sherlock led the Owls' offensive outburst sinking all three of his three-pointers consecutively. 

Keene State eventually lost its lead in the second half.  "We started to turn the ball over at an amazing rate and we stopped guarding," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "Some of those turnovers led to immediate points.  In the second half they had 19 point off of turnovers."   

Trailing the Owls 50-40 with 13:19 remaining in the second half, USM used a 13-3 run over the next three minutes to knot the game up at 53 with 9:43 to play.  Sullivan scored seven of his 20 points in the run, while Pluchino found his way into nearly every play with four points, two assists and a steal.

Gagliolo responded for the Owls sinking back-to-back threes for a six point swing and a 59-53 KSC lead, before Pluchino led the Huskies to their first lead of the game since the first half coordinating a 10-0 run.  After Gagliolo's threes, Pluchino countered with a three of his own, and then came up with a steal and an assist on a Sullivan jumper, followed by a no-look assist to a wide open Penney for a 63-59 Huskies' lead with 5:23 to play. 

Tipton and Howard scored the next four points of the game on a layup and two-free throws to tie the score up for the fourth time, 63-63, with 4:41 to play, but USM outscored the Owls 11-4 down the stretch for the win.  Four different players scored for the Huskies in the final minutes, led by four points from Odneal.  Pluchino had two points, two assists and two rebounds in the run.

Keene State travels to Springfield next Tuesday (5:00 p.m.).

(Game Story information courtesy USM Sports Information )