NEWTON, Mass.--The No. 19 Keene State College men's basketball team was handed a 97-79 setback by Lasell College on non-conference action on Thursday night.

Records

• Keene State: 5-2
• Lasell: 6-3

Tale of the Tape

• Keene State got 21 points from Dizel Wright, while Matt Ozzella added 19 and Ty Nichols had 18.  Ozzella, who has led the Owls in rebounding in every game this season, did so again with eight boards, while Nichols handed out seven assists with four rebounds and two steals.
• Lasell shot 48.3% (14-29) from three point range, getting a game high 31 points from Armin Omanovic.  Omanovic was 5-for-12 from deep and made 10 of 13 free throws with seven rebounds and six assists.  Scott Arsenault also went 5-for-11 from three point range with 17 points, while John Powell added 17 points and Yordan Villalon had 11 points and 19 rebounds.
• The Lasers held a 52-34 edge in rebounding, pulling down 37 defensive boards and limiting Keene State to 12 second chance points. 
• Keene State shot 43.3% (29-67) overall, but made only six of 26 attempts from beyond the arc.

First Half Highlights

• The Lasers immediately jumped to an 11-1 lead, as Omanovic, Derek McMahon, and Arsenault each knocked down a three pointer in the opening four minutes.  
• Keene State responded with a 14-2 run, as Ozzella and Lucas Hammel each knocked down a three, and Ty Nichols' layup with 11:30 left gave Keene State a 15-13 lead.  The teams traded baskets, as the Owls led 21-20 on Wright's free throw at the 9:18 mark, before Powell knocked down a pair of free throws with 7:37 left for a 22-21 lead.
• That kickstarted a 14-2 spurt for Lasell, who went on 35-23 on Tim Blair's three with 4:25 left.  Lasell increased the lead to 41-25 with 50 seconds left in the half on McMahon's hoop.
• The Owls cut the lead to 11 (41-30) at the break as Damonte Turner converted a three point play, and Nick Gagliolo put back a rebound with three seconds left in the half.

Second Half Highlights

• The Lasers opened the second half outscoring Keene State 25-8 over the first six minutes of the second half.  Arsenault made a trio of three pointers during that stretch, and Omanovic added two more as Lasell opened up a 66-38 lead.
• Charles McLain's three pointer with 9:25 left got the Owls within 69-50, but Arsenault hit another three on the Lasers' next possession.
• Nichols scored with 5:53 left to make it a 16 point (80-64) game, and his three with 2:50 go cut it to 87-73, but Keene State would get no closer the rest of the way.

Up Next

• Keene State hosts UMass Boston at 3 p.m. on Saturday to close out the semester.
• The Lasers travel to No. 1 Amherst College on December 10 at 3 p.m.