SPRINGFIELD, MASS. 11/26/13 – The Keene State College men's basketball team is still searching for it first win of the season after dropping a 82-65 non-conference game to Springfield College at Blake Arena on Tuesday night.

The Owls fall to 0-4 while the Pride (3-0) won their third straight game.

Keene State was led by sophomore Nate Howard (Cheshire, Conn.) who put up 17 points and had six rebounds. Classmate Tre' Tipton (Stamford, Conn.) had 15 points and five boards while freshman Matt Ozzella (Medway, Mass.) added nine points and seven rebounds. The Owls shot 33.8% on 22-of-65

Simon Kilday (Arlington, Va.) led the Pride with 17 points.

Keene State came out with a quick 9-0 lead to start the game, but the Pride quickly erased it on nine-straight points by Kilday. Springfield took its first lead of the game on a basket by Tim Swenson (Millbury, Mass.) to make it 11-9 with 14:53 left in the first half. The Pride never trailed from that point.

After Ozzella knocked down a three-pointer with 9:52 left in the first to make it a 22-18 Springfield lead, the Pride went on a 21-4 run spanning 9:42. The Owls ended the first half on a three-pointer by Tipton with nine ticks left on the clock. Springfield held a 43-25 lead at halftime.

Kilday put up 15 of his 17 points in the first half, shooting 6-of-8 from the field. Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Mass.) put up 15 points and pulled down five rebounds. Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) added 12 points, dished out seven assists and had two steals while Alex Garstka (Westfield, Mass.) finished the day with 10 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 for behind the arc.

Swenson was big defensively for the Pride, racking up five blocks and 10 rebounds. The senior also added seven points. Larry Piretra (Oakland, N.J.) was big on the boards, pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. For the game, Springfield shot 29-of-59 (49.2%) and was 7-for-18 (38.9%) from behind the arc.

Springfield scored 36 of its points in the paint and had 23 points come off the bench.The Owls' bench was also good, putting up 22 points. Springfield led by as much as 21 in the win.

 The Owls will be back in action next Tuesday, traveling to Plattsburgh State for a 7:00 p.m. start.

(Courtesy Springfield College Sports Information)