WILLIMANTIC, Conn.--A late rally came up just short as the Keene State College men's basketball team lost to Eastern Connecticut State University 63-61 at Geissler Gym on Wednesday night.

Records

• Keene State: 11-7, 4-4 Little East Conference
• Eastern Connecticut State: 13-6, 7-1 Little East Conference

Tale of the Tape

• Jeff Lunn led Keene State with 15 points, followed by Nate Stitchell and Matt Ozzella with 11 each, and 10 for Jaquel Edwards.
• The Warrriors got a game high 24 points from Tarchee Brown, who made 7-of-15 shots from the floor, including five of nine attempts from downtown.  Hugh Lindo had 12 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks, and four steals, and Trachone Preston had 11 points.  
• Keene State held the Warriors to 32.1% shooting (17-for-53), but made just 13-of-21 shots at the foul line, while Eastern Connecticut made 22-of-28 shots at the charity stripe.  

First Half Highlights

• Nate Stitchell's three with 15:53 on the clock gave the Owls an early 8-3 lead, but the Warriors went on an 11-2 run capped by Brown's three for a 14-10 lead.
• The Warriors' lead stretched to 22-17 on Kevin Leumene's three with 7:55 left, and ballooned to 28-21 as Lindo had a layup and a pair of free throws.
• Two straight baskets from Lunn and a Stitchell three with 18 seconds left in the first half cut the ECSU lead to 32-29 at halftime.

Second Half Highlights

• The game remained tight throughout the second half; a free throw from Leumene and a layup from Brown gave ECSU a 40-37 lead, but Lunn sank a pair of free throws to give KSC a 44-42 lead with 12:10 to play.
• Brown and Collin Jordan made back-to-back threes for a 49-45 lead, but Ozzella responded with five straight points to get within 55-52 with 4:48 to go.
• Brown again seemed to put the game out of reach, making two more threes for a 61-52 lead with 3:29 to play, but the Warriors would not score again from the field as Keene State rallied.
• Ty Nichols made a pair of free throws, and Lunn sank a short jumper to trim the gap to 61-56 with 2:32 to go.  Brown drained two free throws, but Ozzella scored at the other end and Lindo missed a layup that gave the Owls a chance to pull closer.  
• Stitchell made a free throw with 1:23 left and Ozzella scored again to make it 63-61.  On the other end, Brown committed a turnover and the Owls had a chance to tie or take the lead.  Lindo leaped in to swat away Ozzella's layup attempt, and the Owls had to foul.  
• Lindo missed both shots, giving the Owls one final chance, but Nichols' layup was off the mark and the rebound went out of bounds to the Warriors, who ran out the clock before Keene State could foul.

Up Next

• The Owls return home to host UMass Boston on Saturday at 3 p.m.
• Eastern Connecticut State heads to Rhode Island College for a 3 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.