NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.--The Keene State College men's basketball team fell in the regular season finale, 92-80, to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center.

The Owls finish the regular season 17-8, with an 8-6 mark in the Little East Conference, while the Corsairs are 13-12, but 9-5 in the LEC.  The Owls will be the No. 4 seed in the LEC tournament and host a quarterfinal game against Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday, February 24.

KSC was led by senior Tom Doyle, who scored 32 points, shooting 10-for-19 from the floor.  The 32 points were one short of his career high set earlier this season.

Matt Ozzella had a double-double for KSC with 11 points and a career high 17 rebounds.  Jeff Lunn and Dizel Wright each posted 10 points.

The Owls could not withstand the scoring of UMD's Jordan Rezendes, who came in as the league's leading scorer and left no doubt, scoring 51 points on 18-of-32 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from three point range and 11-of-12 from the foul line, while pulling down six rebounds and handing out six assists.

It was KSC who raced out to an early 12-3 lead on the strength of two three pointers from Doyle in the first four minutes.

The Corsairs responded with a 15-4 run to take an 18-16 lead on a three point shot from John Genkos, but the Owls battled back for a 26-23 advantage when Doyle converted a three point play. 

Layups from Ozzella and Wright on consecutive KSC possessions stretched the lead to 35-25, but the Corsairs closed to 37-36 on a three by Jake Laga before KSC's Jaquel Edwards sank a layup to give the Owls a three point lead at halftime.

Lunn's bucket with 13:16 left in the second half gave KSC a 50-46 lead, only to see the Corsairs explode for a 19-8 run to take a 65-58 lead with 7:39 to play.  

Rezendes, who had 33 of his points after halftime, put the game out of reach with two free throws and a three pointer to make it a 79-70 game after KSC had closed to within four. 

"The kid had a special night, and we struggled to find a way to guard him.  He's a really good player," said head coach Rob Colbert.

KSC's focus moves now to Tuesday night.  "I think our kids are mature enough to understand what this tournament's about - every team has to win three games, and it's survive and advance. This team has shown the ability to come back after tough losses, that would be my expectation and I expect it to happen again."

The Corsairs will be the No. 3 seed in the LEC tournament and will also host a quarterfinal game on Tuesday night.