KEENE, N.H.--Eric Alleyene scored 26 points to lead Rhode Island College to a 79-69 win over Keene State College in Little East Conference men's basketball action at Spaulding Gym on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls fall to 15-6, with a 6-4 mark in the Little East Conference, while the Anchormen improve to 15-6, with a 7-3 LEC mark.

Matt Ozzella led the Owls with 16 points, while Nate Howard recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  Dizel Wright had 11 points and Tom Doyle recorded 10.

Alleyene was one of five RIC players in double figures on the day.  Patrick Matthews chipped in 14 off the bench, while Victor Smith had 13.  Roosevel Shider had 12 and Chris Burton netted 10.

Consecutive three point shots from Ozzella gave Keene State a 10-8 lead with 14:39 to play, and the game continued its back-and-forth pace throughout the first half.  Alleyne's layup with 8:44 left in the half made it 20-16 in RIC's favor, only to see KSC rattle off five straight points for a 21-20 lead.

Another bucket for Alleyne gave the Anchormen a 28-23 lead, but the Owls again closed to one on Carlos Ovalle's free throws with 48 ticks left on the clock in the first half. 

Shider connected on a three pointer with nine seconds left to give Rhode Island College a 35-31 lead at halftime.

RIC opened the second half on a 16-4 run as KSC missed their first four shots of the half while Shider sandwiched a pair of threes around another from Alleyne.

Two free throws from Matthews gave the Anchormen a 60-42 lead, but Wright converted a three point play, tipping in Doyle's miss and making the ensuing free throw to make it 64-52 with 5:45 to play.

That was as close as KSC would get until Jaquel Edwards made two free throws for the final score with eight seconds remaining.

The Owls struggled from distance, shooting 2-for-16 for the game, including 0-for-6 in the second half.  KSC won the battle of the boards, outrebounding RIC 37-28.

The Owls travel to Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday night for a 7:30 pm tip-off.  Rhode Island College heads to Western Connecticut State on the same evening.