Box Score DANBURY, Conn.--Western Connecticut State University got a combined 57 points from Kendall Marquez and Ronnie Underwood in a 98-85 win over Keene State College in Little East Conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
Keene State is now 7-15 overall, and 4-8 in the LEC, while WCSU is 15-7, and 7-5 against LEC opposition.
The Owls utilized their deep shooting in the early going. Tom Doyle (Wallingford, Conn.) knocked down a three a minute into the game, and Nick Gagliolo (Peabody, Mass.), who was making his first start since Nov. 26, hit three straight three pointers as KSC took a 14-9 lead. Another Doyle basket pushed the Owl lead to 19-12, but the Colonials went on a 10-4 run that finished with a three from Jengodji Gates (New Haven, Conn.) that cut the gap to 23-22.
Keene State never trailed in the first half, going up 37-33 on a jumper by Jim Hepple (Newington, Conn.) before the Colonials cut it to 37-36 at halftime. The Owls picked up where they left off early in the second half, as Jaquel Edwards (Manchester, Conn.) converted a three point play, and Gagliolo buried a jumper for a 45-40 lead at the 17:12 mark.
A layup from Jeff Lunn (Nashua, N.H.) gave the Owls a 50-46 lead with 14:39 on the clock, but the three point shooting of Western Connecticut State took over the game. The Colonials went on a 31-10 run over the next six minutes, connecting on six threes over that span to take a 77-60 lead. Keene State responded with a run of their own, as Tre' Tipton (Stamford, Conn.) and Doyle scored to get KSC within 10 at 80-70, and Lucas Hammel's (Methuen, Mass.) layup with 3:09 to play got the lead down to eight (86-78), but KSC got no closer. A layup from and a three from Marquez restored the lead to 91-78, and the Colonials made three of five free throws down the stretch.
"The game exploded from basically a tie game to a 15 point lead," said KSC head coach Rob Colbert. "We couldn't find them in transition, and we left their shooters wide open. That was the difference."
Gagliolo led four KSC players in double-figures with 17 points, shooting 4-for-6 from behind the arc. Nate Howard had 16 points and nine rebounds, while Edwards had 14 points and 14 boards. Tom Doyle finished with 11 points.
Marquez poured in 31 points on 10-for-14 shooting, while Underwood added 26, making 10 of 13 shots from the floor. WCSU connected on 10 of 19 shots from downtown, and made 18 of 23 free throws. KSC was just 5-of-15 from behind the arc and 20-of-31 at the charity stripe.
KSC returns home for their final two games of the regular season, starting with a matchup against Plymouth State University at 7:30 on Tuesday. Western Connecticut will travel to Eastern Connecticut on the same evening.
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