KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College men's basketball team ended a three game losing streak with a 55-43 win over Castleton University on Tuesday night at Spaulding Gym.

Records

• Keene State: 7-3
• Castleton: 4-8 

The Series

• Keene State now leads 4-2.  The Owls have won four straight against Castleton.

Tale of the Tape

• Keene State shot 50% in the second half to slowly pull away from the Spartans.  The Owls were 8-for-27 (29.6%) from the floor in the first half, but connected on 9-for-18 second half attempts.
• Castleton played a deliberate, slow-down offense, taking just 15 shots in the first half and making three.
• The Spartans struggled from the foul line, making just 17 of 28 shots (60.7%) from the charity stripe.
• Keene State was led by 15 points from Ty Nichols, while Nate Stitchell chipped in 13 points.  Pavin Parrish was the only Spartan in double-figures with 18 points.
• Jaquel Edwards led all players with nine rebounds.  The Owls outrebounded Castleton 34-29.

First Half Highlights

• Castleton's Pavin Parrish tied the game at five with a three pointer with 16:49 to go, but the Owls went on a 10-0 run fueled by three pointers from Nate Stitchell and Tre' Tipton.  
• Slowly, the Spartans crept back into the game, outscoring the Owls 12-5 the rest of the half.  Two free throws from Casey McGraw with 3:17 to go cut the Keene State lead to 20-17 with 3:17 left in the half, but neither team would score again in the period.

Second Half Highlights

• Castleton opened the second half by scoring eight of the first 12 points, capped by a layup from Parrish to take a 25-24 lead with 16:08 to play.
• Keene State went back in front on two free throws from Nichols, and Matt Ozzella's layup with 8:39 left stretched the lead to 36-29.
• The Owls continued to pull away, as Tipton fed Jimmy Layman for a layup and a 40-31 lead with 5:29 remaining, and Carlos Ovalle canned a long two for a 44-33 lead with 4:21 left.
• Castleton made one last push, as Robbie Colarusso came off the bench to knock down two consecutive threes that trimmed the lead to 44-39, but the Spartans would get no closer, as the Owls hit seven of eight free throws down the stretch and Stitchell connected on a three with 24 seconds left that slammed the door shut.

Up Next

• Keene State: The Owls host Colby-Sawyer College on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m.
• Castleton: The Spartans travel to Green Mountain College for a North Atlantic Conference game on Saturday at 3 p.m.