Box Score WILLIMANTIC, Conn.—The adage that it's tough to beat a team three times in a season proved true as the No. 4 seed Keene State College men's basketball team scored a stunning 81-63 upset of top seeded and nationally ranked Eastern Connecticut State University on Friday night at Geissler Gym.
The Warriors has won both regular season games over KSC but could not overcome the Owls in the semifinal, as KSC limited the Warriors to 40% shooting from the floor.
It was the first time the Owls (19-8) have ever beaten Eastern Connecticut on the road in the LEC tournament. The Warriors had registered tournament victories over KSC in 2000, 2010, and 2012.
KSC will play Rhode Island College in the championship game on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Anchormen, seeded No. 2 in the tourney, toppled No. 3 seed UMass Dartmouth 75-63 in Friday night's other semifinal.
The two teams have meet twice before in the LEC title tilt, with the Anchormen winning both matchups in 2007 and in 2013. It's the ninth consecutive trip to the LEC title game for Rhode Island College.
Freshman guard Dizel Wright of Keene, who had only 10 total points against Eastern in the regular season, scored 17 and senior guard Tom Doyle dropped in 30 points. He was 12-for-14 from the foul line in helping the Owls to a 21-for-26 mark from the stripe. Sophomore forward Jeff Lunn came off the bench for 14 points for Keene, which had advanced to the semis with a 101-99 win over Western Connecticut.
It was the third straight game with at least 30 points for Doyle, after scoring 32 in the regular season finale at UMass Dartmouth and adding 35 more in the quarterfinals against Western Connecticut State.
The Owls came out pressing and forced 16 Eastern turnovers, with Keene capitalizing on those miscues for 16 points. Eastern failed on half of its 18 free throws.
Keene led by ten at halftime and by as many as 20, five minutes into the second half. Eastern whittled the deficit to four with nine minutes left before the Owls answered with 15 of the next 16 points. Doyle canned a jumper and a three-pointer to push the Owls' four-point lead by to nine with 6:39 left, and Lunn scored inside to restore a double-digit lead (68-57) with just under five minutes left. Eastern went more than seven minutes between baskets during Keene's decisive surge.
"We had talked that it would be a game of waves, and about bending but not breaking. We got a couple stops in a row, and we showed a lot of resolve during that onslaught," said head coach Rob Colbert.
The Owls had led by as many as 14 before coughing up the lead in an 82-76 loss to the Warriors on February 11. But the Owls knew they could stick with the high-flying Warriors. "We used it as a positive that we could do it for 20-30. Coach Justice had a great game plan. We didn't guard Lindo outside and were able to clean up a lot of trouble."
KSC now has a quick turnaround to tomorrow's championship game. "We'll be ready, regardless of who it is."
This will be the eighth time that KSC has advanced to the LEC title game since joining the league in the 1997-98 season. The Owls won their only tournament title in 2004. Eastern Connecticut State will be in hopes of an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The No. 4 seed has won the LEC tournament twice; Western Connecticut State did so in 1996 and Eastern Connecticut State also did it in 2000.
(Parts of this story courtesy ECSU Sports Information)
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