PLYMOUTH, N.H.--A strong display of free throw shooting boosted the Keene State College men's basketball team to an 82-70 win over Plymouth State University in a Little East Conference game at Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

Records

• Keene State: 11-5, 4-2 LEC
• Plymouth State: 7-8, 1-5 LEC

How It Happened

Keene State connected on 31 of 41 free throw attempts (75.6%) and made 25 of 57 field goals, led by a team high 16 points each from Matt Ozzella and Dizel Wright.  Ozzella had yet another double-double, pulling down 15 rebounds and making 12 of 14 free throw shots.  Ty Nichols and Lucas Hammel both chipped in with 12 points apiece, and Jaquel Edwards added 10.  Edwards also grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals.

Plymouth State got a game high 16 points from Mike Osgood, along with 12 from Brian Boulay and 11 off the bench from Curtis Arsenault.  The Panthers were missing leading scorer Jack Preston (18.7 points, 8.1 rebounds per game).  Second leading scorer Jaylen Leroy was limited to eight points on 3-for-10 shooting from the floor.

The Owls took an early 8-6 lead as Nichols knocked down a pair of free throws, but the Panthers responded with a 9-2 run, as Boulay sank a pair of three pointers and Max Coleman added another for a 15-10 lead with 15:27 left in the game.  Five straight points from KSC freshman Jake Collagan gave KSC a 19-18 advantage, and the game stayed close, with Osgood tying the contest at 24-24 with a free throw with 8:20 remaining.

KSC roared out in front, scoring the next eight points and closing the half on a 22-10 burst to lead 46-34 at the break.  Wright tipped in his own miss with 4:27 left in the half, and back-to-back baskets from Nichols and Wright, plus two free throws from Edwards put the Owls up by 14 before Osgood scored with five seconds left in the period.

Keene State never let the Panthers back in the game in the second half.  Osgood's jumper with 15:53 on the clock pulled the Panthers within 11 (49-38), but Jimmy Layman converted a three point play two minutes later for a 55-38 lead.  Wright's jumper with 5:47 left gave the Owls their biggest lead at 73-53 as KSC cruised to a win.

In The Paint

• Keene State improves to 33-18 against their in-state rival.  Keene State is now 13-7 in matches played in Plymouth.
• Ozzella recorded his eighth double-double of the year, and is now 30 points away from becoming KSC's 35th 1,000 point scorer.
• The Owls got double-digit scoring from all five of their starters for the first time this season.
• Tonight's game marked the second time the Owls have hit at least 30 free throws in a game, having also done so against Trinity College (CT) on November 30.  
• One game after scoring the fewest amount of points in a game this season, KSC hit the 80 point mark for the ninth time.  The Owls are 9-0 when scoring at least 80 points.

Up Next

• Keene State returns to Spaulding Gym for the first time in two weeks, hosting UMass Dartmouth on January 21 at 3 p.m.
• The Panthers will remain at home, hosting Rhode Island College on January 21.