KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College men's basketball team picked up a critical Little East Conference win with an 85-67 triumph over Western Connecticut State University on Senior Day at Spaulding Gym.

The Owls improve to 16-7, and 7-5 in the LEC, while the Colonials fall to 14-9, and 6-6 in the LEC. The win gives the Owls a season sweep of the Colonials, and a crucial tiebreaker when the final league standings arrive.

Tom Doyle, playing in his final regular season home game, scored 14 points and passed out four assists.  Nate Howard led all players with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots, while Dizel Wright had 15 points.

Tony Seldon led the Colonials with 15 points off the bench, while Jimmy Louissant and Phil Starks each chipped in 12.

Western Connecticut State rolled out to an early 14-6 lead as Phil Starks made three three pointers and Kendall Marquez another, but the Owls responded with a three point play from Matt Ozzella, a Doyle layup, and two free throws from Howard to pull within one.

KSC continued to chip away, taking their first lead of the game when Doyle was fouled on a three point attempt and made all three shots with 8:44 left in the first half.

The Colonials responded with a 17-9 run over the next seven minutes, taking a 41-34 lead when Louissant buried a jumper with 1:15 to play, but a layup from Jesse LaCroix with 38 seconds to go in the first half made it a 41-37 game at halftime.

The Owls opened the second half by keeping WCSU scoreless for the first five minutes, scoring 12 straight points to open up a 49-41 advantage.  Howard and Wright each had a three point play during that span.

WCSU got within 11 on a three point shot by Russell Payton, only to see Nick Gagliolo score on the very next possession, and KSC never looked back, leading by as many as 23 on Doyle's basket with 3:14 to go.

Before the game, KSC honored Doyle, the only senior on the Owls roster.  

"We were not doing a good job of defensive transition in the first half, but we did a good job with some full court defenses," said head coach Rob Colbert.  "We had some good contributions from both Nate Howard and Nate Stitchell."

The Owls finish out the regular season on the road, beginning with a trip to Plymouth State University on February 17 at 7:30 p.m.  The Colonials host in-state rival Eastern Connecticut State on the same evening.