KEENE, N.H.--Dizel Wright tipped in the go-ahead basket with 33 seconds left as the Keene State College men's basketball team hung on for a 90-86 win over UMass Dartmouth in a critical Little East Conference game on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.

Records

• Keene State: 12-5, 5-2 LEC
• UMass Dartmouth: 11-6, 5-2 LEC

Quotable

• "I was pretty jacked up the whole game; I was ready to give it my all.  We've got to keep plugging away, keep getting better every day, and hopefully play our best basketball at the end of the year." --  Senior forward Jeff Lunn
• "This was one of those games that you could call a regular-season playoff game.  The guys knew the importance of this game, and you could really see that day.  I'm really impressed with our guys.  Having Jeff back is really big; to have a guy who's a threat with his back to the basket is a great addition." --Head coach Ryan Cain

How it Happened

Ty Nichols led all players with 23 points, while grabbing six rebounds and handing out six assists.  Matt Ozzella posted his ninth double-double of the year with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Lucas Hammel chipped in 14 points and Jaquel Edwards added 11.   Jeff Lunn, who missed 10 games earlier this year with an injury, rounded out the double-figure scorers for KSC, adding 15 points off the bench and shooting 7-for-8 from the free throw line.

The Corsairs got a 20 point, 11 rebound effort from big man Nick Portelance, while Tucker Bouchard scored 15 points, and Josh Nelson and Joshua Imadiyi both had 14 points.  Jon Robinson, who made five threes and scored 23 points in a UMass Dartmouth win on December 3, was held to nine points on just seven field goal attempts, including 1-of-5 from three point range.

Nichols swished a three pointer for a 6-4 Owl lead in the early going, but the Corsairs nudged in front, going up 15-9 on a basket by Imadiyi.  Bouchard canned a three with 8:43 left in the first half for a 27-17 lead, but the Owls responded with a 17-4 run, capped by a three from Hammel from just to the left of the top of the key with 4:24 left in the first half.

Jake Collagan banked in a jumper with 35 ticks on the clock, and Ozzella drained a three just ahead of the first half buzzer for a 44-40 lead at halftime.

Keene State continued to push ahead in the second half, as Ozzella splashed another three, then scored inside for a 54-48 lead with 14:22 remaining the in game.  The senior scorer grabbed an offensive board off of Nichols' miss and scored again with 11:55 to go as the Owls led 62-52, but the Corsairs had a run of their own, outscoring KSC 13-2 over the next three minutes to lead 65-64.

Back-and-forth they went, as Edwards knocked down a pair of free throws for a 70-67 lead, only to see UMD score the next six points for a 73-70 advantage with 6:48 to go.  Hammel tied the game with a three on the next Owl possession, but Imadiyi scored again and Mert Sert knocked down two free throws with 5:32 left for a four point lead.

Imadiyi, then Nelson, scored with short jumpers for an 84-81 lead with 2:29 left, but Nichols took over from there.  Reaching 20 points for the seventh time this season, Nichols made two free throws to get the Owls within one, then converted a three point play with 1:36 to go for an 86-84 lead.

Nelson tied the game for the sixth and final time with two free throws with 51 seconds left.  The Owls went back to Nichols, whose layup with 34 seconds left missed, but Wright ghosted in to tip back in the rebound.

Nelson's jumper was short on the Corsairs' next possession, and Imadiyi could not covert the follow-up.  Lunn sank two free throws with seven seconds left to make it a two-possession game, and Bouchard's three point attempt was off the mark as time wore down.

In the Paint

• Keene State earned a split of the season series with the Corsairs and moved into a tie with UMass Dartmouth for second place in the LEC.  Both teams sit at 5-2, two games back of league undefeated Eastern Connecticut State, and two games ahead of Western Connecticut State and UMass Boston.
• Halfway through the LEC schedule, only Eastern Connecticut, Keene State, and UMass Dartmouth are over .500 in LEC play.
• The Owls improved to 8-1 at home.
• After shooting 63% (12-for-19) from the free throw line in the first half, Keene State improved in the second stanza, knocking down 14 o 18 shots (78%).

Up Next

• Keene State hosts Eastern Connecticut State in a matchup of the first and second placed teams in the Little East Conference.  The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 on January 25.
• The Corsairs will play UMass Boston on the same day.