KEENE, N.H.--Matt Ozzella hit a tie-breaking three pointer with 58 seconds left in overtime to lift Keene State to a 78-71 win over Plymouth State University in a thrilling game at Spaulding Gym on Wednesday.

Records

• Keene State: 10-6, 3-3 LEC
• Plymouth State: 12-5, 3-3 LEC 

The Series

• Keene State leads 30-17.  The Owls have won three in a row and 10 of 13 over the Panthers dating back to 2011.  This was the first time KSC has beaten Plymouth State in an overtime game; the Panthers won 111-110 in 2000, and 78-70 in 2009.

Tale of the Tape

• Nate Stitchell led all players with 22 points, making 8-of-10 from the line and passing out five assists.  Jaquel Edwards tied his career high with 18 points, while Ozzella had 13 points and a game high 15 rebounds.  Ty Nichols tossed in 10.
• Plymouth State's Uche Nwokeji had a double-double with 21 points and 14 boards, and Brian Boulay had 11.  Ernie Johnson came off the bench to add 12.
• Keene State shot 23-30 from the free throw line, including 17-23 in the second half and overtime.  The Panthers went to the foul line just 12 times.
• All but seven points for the Owls came from their starting five.

First Half Highlights

• Edwards' jumper at the 15:15 mark of the first half gave the Owls an early 12-9 lead, only to see Johnson knock down a three and Nick MacGregor make two more in succession as the Panthers went in front 18-12.
• Curtis Arsenault drained a three from the corner that gave Plymouth State a 25-14 lead, only to see the Owls scored the next 12 points, fueled by three point baskets from Stitchell and Carlos Ovalle to go back in front 26-25.
• Nwojeki's layup with 34 seconds remaining gave the Panthers a 33-30 lead at halftime.

Second Half Highlights

• Keene State started the second half hot, opening on a 10-2 burst capped by a three from Ozzella for a 40-35 lead with less than four minutes played.
• Boulay's jumper with 12:03 to go put the Panthers back in front 45-44, and the Keene native drained a two long range threes with 10:58 to go for a 51-46 advantage.
• Keene State clawed back into the game, as Jeff Lunn's layup with 4:52 to go gave the Owls a 57-56 lead.
• Nwokeji's basket with 1:55 left tied the game at 62, but two Nichols free throws on the next possession put the Owls back in front. Johnson made one of two at the line with 35 seconds to go, but Stitchell did the same as the Owls stay up by two.
• Nwokeji put back a miss of Boulay's layup to tie the game at 65, and Stitchell's 18 footer bounced off the back rim to force overtime.

Overtime Highlights

• Lunn and Arsenault traded free throws to open the period, and after Johnson's layup gave the Panthers a 69-67 lead, Lunn again scored inside to knot the score at 69.
• Edwards sliced through the lane with 1:46 to go for a 71-69 advantage, but after two Panther misses, Arsenault drained a fadeaway jumper from just inside the three point line to again tie the score.
• The set the stage for Ozzella's heroics, as the junior coolly swished a three from the left wing to put Keene State in front for good.
• Nichols and Stitchell each hit free throws to salt away the win as the Panthers missed three three pointers in the final seconds. 

Up Next

• Keene State heads to UMass Dartmouth for a 3 p.m. tip on Saturday.
• Plymouth State will be going to Rhode Island College on Saturday, also for a 3 p.m. start.