NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.--Matt Ozzella scored a career high 23 points and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Keene State College men's basketball team picked up a key 89-86 win over UMass Dartmouth on Saturday at the Tripp Athletic Center.

Records

• Keene State: 11-6, 4-3 Little East Conference
• UMass Dartmouth: 10-7, 3-4 Little East Conference

The Series

• Keene State leads 24-18.  The Owls swept the season series with the Corsairs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

Tale of the Tape

• All five starters scored in double-figures for the Owls, led by Ozzella's 23 points.   Nate Stitchell and Jeff Lunn chipped in 16, while Jaquel Edwards added 14 and Ty Nichols had 11.  
• 18 of Ozzella's points came in the first half, while all of Stitchell's came in the second half.
• Edwards also had a double-double, with 10 rebounds to go with his 14 points.  
• Keene State shot 59.1% from the field in the game, and 64.5% (20-for-31) in the second half.
• Jordan Rezendes scored 21 points to lead UMass Dartmouth.  The nation's second leading scorer came in averaging 29.2 points per game, but shot 8-for-20 from the field overall and just 2-for-12 from three point range.  Abi Akanni (19), Jon Robinson (15), and Chris Mendes (11) also reached double-digits for the Corsairs.

First Half Highlights

• The Owls trailed 13-8 after Nick Portelance scored inside at the 15:26 mark, but went on a 17-2 run over the next five minutes to take a 25-15 lead.  Ozzella had eight points during that stretch, and Rodney Jean-Marie capped the run with a short jumper.
• The Corsairs pulled back within two on Robinson's layup with 6:13 to go in the half at 27-25, but Carlos Ovalle restored Keene State's lead to 38-30 with a long range shot.
• A pair of threes from Mendes tied the game at 38, but Ozzella made a three of his own just before the end of the first half as the Owls went into the break up 44-42.

Second Half Highlights

• The game got much tight in the second half; Keene State edged out in front by five on a free throw from Ozzella that made it 51-46, but a 9-4 run by UMass Dartmouth saw the game tied at 55 on a basket by Akanni.
• Stitchell caught fire in the second half, connecting on threes on consecutive possessions as Keene State took a 63-59 lead.  UMass Dartmouth came right back, going up 70-69 as Mendes converted a three point play.
• A three from Tom Keyes and two more free throws by Mendes gave the Corsairs a 75-71 lead with 7:46 to go, but the Owls got a 12 footer from Edwards to tie the game at 77.
• Robinson's layup with 3:43 left had the Corsairs up 82-79, but Stitchell scored the next seven points for Keene State for an 87-84 advantage.  Arinze Obiora got the Corsairs back within one on the next possession, only to have Lunn score inside with 21 ticks on the clock.
• Rezendes missed a three on the Corsairs' next possession, and they were forced to foul Edwards, who missed his first shot, giving UMD one last chance to send the game to overtime.  Rezendes missed again from the top of the key, and though he got his own rebound, time expired before he could get off another shot. 

Up Next

• Keene State heads to league leading Eastern Connecticut State for a 7:30 p.m. start on Wednesday.
• UMass Dartmouth hosts UMass Boston on Wednesday night at the same time.