GORHAM, Maine--The Keene State College men's basketball team suffered a 71-70 setback to the University of Southern Maine in a Little East Conference game on Saturday.

Records

• Keene State: 8-4, 1-2 LEC
• Southern Maine: 7-6, 1-2 LEC 

Tale of the Tape

• Matt Ozzella and Nate Howard both had double-doubles; Ozzella had 18 points and 16 boards, while Howard had 18 points and 15 rebounds.  The two were joined in double digits by Nate Stitchell (15 points) and Ty Nichols (10 points).
• It was the third time in four games that Howard had at least 15 rebounds.
• Atencio Martin led four Huskies in double-figures with 22 points, while Jose Nouchanthavong had 18 points, Zach Leal 13, and Ben Jackson 10.
• Keene State held a 52-40 advantage in rebounding, incluiding a 25-18 edge in offensive boards.  10 of Ozzella's rebounds were of the offensive variety.
• Starting lineups dominated the game; Keene State's bench combined for five points, while the Huskies' bench contributed eight.

First Half Highlights

• The Owls raced out to a 9-4 lead in the first two minutes as Nichols had four points and Ozzella knocked down a three pointer.
• USM responded with a 12-4 run of their own for a 16-13 lead on Martin's layup with 12:26 to go. 
• The teams went back and forth until Keene State tied the game at 21 on two free throws from Nichols.  That sparked a 7-0 run that included a layup from Stitchell and five straight points from Ozzella for a 28-21 lead at the 5:43 mark.
• The Owls kept that lead into halftime, despite Martin scoring USM's final eight points of the half.  His bucket with seven seconds left kept Keene State's advantage at 38-31.

Second Half Highlights

• Ozzella's layup with exactly 15 minutes to go upped the lead to 49-40, but Martin powered an 11-3 run over the next 3:32 with five points.  Leal's layup made it a 52-51 game.
• Omar Haji-Hersi scored inside with 9:06 to go that gave USM the lead for good.  
• Keene State stayed close throughout, scoring on four consecutive possessions with offensive rebounds, the last of which was Ozzella's putback of his own miss that made it 68-67.
• After Leal and Howard traded baskets, the Huskies took a 71-69 lead when Nouchanthavong made 1-of-2 from the foul line with 28 seconds to go.  The Huskies fouled Nichols, who made 1-of-2.
• The Huskies committed a five second violation, but the Owls could not capitalize, as Stitchell missed a jumper in the lane.  Ozzella fouled Ben Jackson, who missed both free throws and Keene State had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but the Huskies swatted away the inbounds pass and the Owls could not get the shot off.

Up Next:

• Keene State returns home to host Western Connecticut State on January 13 at 7:30 p.m.
• Southern Maine heads to Rhode Island College on the same day, also at 7:30 p.m.