PROVIDENCE, R.I. 2/22/13 - For the first time in six years, the Keene State College men's basketball team is headed back to the Little East Conference finals. 

Senior Ryan Martin (Wayne, Maine) scored 23 points to lead the third-seeded Owls to a 79-73 upset win over second seed and defending league champ Eastern Conn. State University in the semifinals of the LEC tournament at the Murray Center in Providence on Friday night.

Keene State moves on the the championship game against top seed and host Rhode Island College on Saturday  (5 p.m.). The Anchormen jumped out to a 29-15 halftime lead and held for a 61-47 win over fourth seed Southern Maine in the first semifinal game. 

It was a very satisfying win for KSC (17-10), which had dropped double-overtime heartbreakers in the second-round to Rhode Island College and Eastern Conn. the past two years.  "I think the losses the last two years helped our team," said Martin, who hit seven of his nine shots from the field, including 5-6 from behind the arc and a perfect 4-4 from the line.  "The whole game we were telling ourselves to keep our composure. We were mentally tough today." 

"We now have a chance to play for a title.  That's all you can ask for," said KSC Coach Rob Colbert.  "I though we really showed some toughness. They were able to whittle the lead down, we bent, but we didn't break and we were able to get back to our game plan.

Looking to get more size into his opening line-up, Colbert started junior Montel Walcott (New Haven, Conn.) along side senior Rashad Wright (Agawam, Mass.).

KSC's front court was also bolstered by the return of senior Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, Vt.) who missed the last two games with an injury.

The Owls opened up a 29-18 lead at the 9:26 mark from an unexpected source when junior Jim Hepple (Newington, Conn.) knocked down his third three-pointer of the game.

KSC continued to go to the three-ball, Martin drained a three-pointer from the top of the key, extending the Owls lead to 38-26.

The Owls also took advantage of it size. Walcott and Fazio hit late first half lay-ups, giving Keene State a 42-30 halftime lead.  

On fire from the field in the first half, KSC shot 16-28 (57%) and hit seven of its 10 three-point attempts. 

Turning up the defensive pressure, Eastern Conn. went on an 8-2 run out the break to cut the lead to 45-38 on a pair of free throws by junior Mike Garrow (Terryville, Conn.).

Undeterred after Wolcott picked up his fourth foul at the 13:02 mark, KSC continued to go inside.  Wright hit a reverse lay-up that made it a 53-40 game at the 12:42 mark

Things were going the Owls' way.  An unstoppable Wright hit a jump hook to give KSC a 59-44 at the midway point of the half.

The Warriors would fight back. Putting on a full-court press, ECSU went on a  12-2 run, capped off by a tip-in by sophomore Brandon Yarborough (Stamford, Conn.) to cut the lead to four points (63-59) with 6:15 to play.

Martin hit a key three-pointer right before the shot clock expired to push the Owls lead back up to 70-61 with 4:12 remaining. 

The game was far from over.  Junior Brian Salzillo (North Haven, Conn.) knocked down a straight-away three-pointer to make it 70-65 with 3:22 to go. 

Providing a spark off the bench, freshman Jesse LaCroix (Orange, Mass.) stole the ball and fed sophomore Tom Doyle (Wallingford, Conn.) for a lay-up. In the Owls' next possession, LaCroix hit a jump shot from the left side to give KSC a 76-65 lead with 1:45 to play.

Although KSC made things interesting by missing several free throws in the closing seconds, they were an able to hang for the win. 

KSC's inside-outside game was too much for the Warriors.  "We worked a lot getting the ball inside.  The big men also did a good job getting the ball out.  It's hard to guard a team when that can go inside and out.  When we move the ball inside and out we're a tough team to beat," said Martin.

"They traditionally have done a good defensive job against us," but we got scoring inside and outside and that's tough to stop," said Colbert

Wright and Fazio each finished with 13 points while Walcott had a team high eight rebounds.

Senior Chris Robataille had a game high 26 points to go with eight rebounds for the Warriors (19-8). Salzillo scored 15 points and Yarborough added nine rebounds to go with eight points.   

"They're a very dangerous team," said Colbert about RIC.  "We have to turn the page right away and do some of the same things we did today.

Since defeating the Warriors (100-75) in a first-round game of the 2009 tournament, the Owls had lost nine of their last 10 games against the Warriors. who moved on to the semifinals with a 65-54 win over seventh seed Western Conn.                         

KSC is now 3-3 against ECSU in tournament play.  The two teams split quarterfinals games with the Owls coming up with victories in 2003 (62-61) and 2009 and the Warriors winning in 2000 (80-79) and 2010 (99-75).  Eastern defeated Keene State 81-72 (2-OT) in last year's semifinal round. KSC's lone title came in 2004.  

 "We're definitely ready to go, especially after a game like this" said Martin about the tomorrow's championship game.  

MARTIN LEADS KEENE STATE TO LITTLE EAST TOURNAMENT FINAL

Providence, R.I. – Senior guard Ryan Martin (Wayne, ME) tallied a team-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, to lead third-seeded Keene State to a 79-73 victory over second-seeded Eastern Connecticut in the semifinals of the 2013 Little East Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, played at The Murray Center on Friday night.

With the win, Keene State (17-10) advances to Little East Conference Tournament Championship game and will face top-seeded Rhode Island College at The Murray Center on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 5 p.m.

Senior forward Rashad Wright (Agawam, MA) totaled 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting and handed out a game-high six assists for the Owls, while senior forward Eric Fazio (Hopewell Junction, NY) added 13 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

On the other end, senior forward Chris Robitaille (Canton, CT) led Eastern Connecticut (19-8) with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go along with eight rebounds, three blocks, and two steals.

In a fast paced, high octane first half that featured plenty of offense, Keene State stormed out to an early, 10-4, lead when Fazio drained a jumper with 14:01 to play. After the Warriors cut the deficit to four and made it, 15-11, with 11:21 on the clock, the Owls nailed five straight shots and went on a 13-7 run to take an 11-point lead, 29-18, with 9:11 to play.

Although Eastern Connecticut managed to trim the margin to seven over the final minutes of the first half, Keene State eventually went into halftime on top by double-digits, 42-30. The Owls shot a scorching hot 57 percent (16-for-28) from the field in the first half and drained seven three-pointers, led by a trio of treys from both Martin and junior guard Jim Hepple (Newington, CT).

Robitaille led the Warriors with 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting through the first 20 minutes. However, the rest of the squad combined to shoot just 20 percent (5-for-20) from the floor in the first half and 20 percent (2-for-10) from beyond the arc.

 Eastern Connecticut opened the second half on an 8-5 run and again cut the deficit to seven, 45-38, with 15:15 on the clock following a pair of free throws from junior forward Mike Garrow (Terryville, CT). However, the Owls bounced back with a 12-4 run to jump ahead by 15 after a turnaround hook shot from Wright with 10:44 to play.

Despite the double-digit deficit, the resilient Warriors responded intense full-court pressure, which led to a 15-4 run of their own to pull within four, capped off by a basket by Garrow with 7:09 remaining that made it, 61-57. After the two teams exchanged baskets over the next few minutes, the Owls eventually extended their lead back to nine after a three-pointer from Martin with just 4:23 to play.

 Yet, junior guard Brian Salzillo (North Haven, CT) kept Eastern in the ballgame with five straight points, including a three-pointer with 3:31 on the clock, to again cut the margin to four. However, that would be as close as the Warriors would come to stealing a win from the Owls, as Keene staved off Eastern's late-rally en route to the six-point victory.

Aside from Robitaille's monster performance, Garrow finished with 13 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Salzillo added 15 points and four steals to help pace Eastern. Although Robitaille shot 63 percent from the floor, the rest of the Warriors combined to shoot just 27 percent (11-for-41).

Hepple helped guide the Owls to victory with nine first-half points off the bench, while senior guard Anthony Mariano (Naugatuck, CT) recorded eight points and three rebounds. Junior center Montel Walcott (New Haven, CT) chipped in with four points, eight rebounds, and three steals in the win.

 Keene State shot 51 percent (28-for-55) from the floor, 53 percent (9-for-17) from downtown, and 61 percent (14-for-23) from the free throw line. Eastern shot just 37 percent (21-for-57) from the field, 20 percent from beyond the arc (3-for-15), and 88 percent from the charity stripe (28-for-32).

(Photo Courtesy: Bob Molta)