KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College men's basketball team gave head coach Rob Colbert the perfect birthday present - tournament MVP Nate Howard scored a career high 31 points to lead the Keene State College men's basketball team to an 80-69 win over Western New England University in the championship game of the KSC Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday.

The Owls improve to 2-0, while the Golden Bears fall to 1-1.  

Howard finished with a double-double, adding 17 rebounds and five blocked shots to his point total.  The junior was one of four Owls in double-figures - Jeff Lunn, also named to the All-Tournament team, added 11 off the bench, while Tom Doyle and Jaquel Edwards each chipped in 10.

Mike Gelinau led the Golden Bears with 29 points, while Musa Elsir was the only other WNE player in double-digits with 12.  Elsir also pulled down a team high eight rebounds.  

Howard connected on his first shot attempt for an early 2-0 lead, but the Golden Bears responded with five quick points on a layup by Zack Askew and a three pointer from Nick DeFeo.  KSC reeled off the next six points as Howard sandwiched a conventional three point play and a pair of free throws around a jumper from Doyle for an 11-5 advantage with 16:01 on the clock.

Consecutive three pointers from Gelinau sparked an 12-4 run over the next five minutes that gave WNE a 17-15 lead, but KSC responded with a 9-2 run of their own, capped by a pair of free throws from Paul Emdin.

Emdin connected on a long two from the left side for a 26-23 lead, but the Golden Bears kept pace, taking a 32-30 lead on two Gelineau foul shots.

Howard's dunk in traffic with 40 seconds left in the half gave the Owls a 41-36 lead at the break.

The Owls opened the second half by scoring eight straight points, six of which were scored by Howard, to open up a 49-36 lead.  

KSC never looked back, going up 55-39 on Matt Ozzella's layup with 14:22 to play.  The Golden Bears drew within five on two free throws by Elsir with two minutes left, but Howard's jumper from the top of the key put the lead back at seven, and the Owls made four of six free throws in the final 48 seconds to seal the win.

The Owls won the battle of the boards 50-41, and limited WNE 27% shooting (9-33) in the second half.

"We saw the Nate who can go get the rebounds, instead of the ones coming to him," said head coach Rob Colbert. "He was tremendous on the defensive end as well."  

In the consolation game, Wheaton College (Mass.) defeated Johnson State College 73-50, behind 34 points from Billy Battaglia.

Keene State hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to Elms College on Tuesday night.  The Golden Bears host cross-town rival Springfield College on the same day.

All-Tip Off Tournament Team
Nate Howard, Keene State (MVP)
Jeff Lunn, Keene State
Mike Gelineau, Western New England
Billy Bataglia, Wheaton (Mass.)
Rob Hazard, Johnson State