KEENE, N.H.--Senior Matt Ozzella scored 25 points, including the 1000th of his career, as the Keene State College men's basketball team scored a crucial 99-92 win over Eastern Connecticut State University on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gym.

Records

• Keene State: 12-5, 6-2 LEC
• Eastern Connecticut: 13-6, 7-1 LEC

Quotables

• "Going into a game like this against Eastern, it was really important to get a win.  I knew I was close (to 1,000 points), but we knew if we trust the process we'll get it done." -- Senior Matt Ozzella
• "Eastern's hosted the last two years, and they were undefeated in the league, so it was really important to get this win tonight."  -- Sophomore Ty Nichols
• "The pace of the game was good for us, we were able to get the ball in some good places tonight.  Overall, a fabulous effort by everyone in a big win tonight.  I'm really pleased for Matt and for the team." -- Head Coach Ryan Cain

How It Happened

Ty Nichols led all players with 26 points, and passed out nine assists.  Ozzella added nine rebounds to go with his 25 points, and Jaquel Edwards added 23 points.  Keene State went to the free throw line 35 times, making 26 of the shots, and knocked down seven of 15 free throw attempts.

Tarchee Brown and Hugh Lindo both scored 23 points for the Warriors, while Tyrell Arnum had 16 points, Kendall Marquez had 15, and Carlos Gonzalez tosseed in 11.  Lindo pulled down 16 rebounds, and shot 10-for-12 from the field, but made only three of eight free throws.

Keene State jumped out to an early 9-4 lead as Edwards hit three shots in a row and Lucas Hammel knocked down a three pointer.  Edwards continued to find the range, draining a three with 15:29 left for a 13-7 lead, but the Warriors responded, outscoring Keene State 16-10 over the next four minutes to tie the game at 23 on Arnum's three pointer.

Marquez sandwiched a pair of threes around a layup from Lindo as the Warriors went up 34-27, and when Lindo tipped in Arnum's miss with 4:34 left in the first period, the Warriors were up 44-32.  Keene State roared into life, ending the half on a 15-3 run fueled by solid free throw shooting and Jimmy Layman's steal and fast break layup.  Hammel knocked down a pair of foul shots to send the game into the break tied at 47.

Eastern Conn. State scored the first five points of the second half for a 52-47 advantage, but the Owls resumed their fast scoring, using a 13-2 burst over the next three minutes for a 60-54 lead.  Ozzella punctuated the run with a fast break layup, his ninth and 10th points of the game to reach the 1,000 point mark.

The senior kept shooting, making a three with 14:13 left for a 67-59 lead, but Brown scored seven straight points to get the Warriors within 69-66.  David Canny's free throws with 7:19 to go gave the Warriors a 77-76 lead, and the teams would trade body blows, until the Owls went up 82-81 on Layman's layup and Edwards swished a jumper from just inside the three point line with 4:09 to go.

Ozzella made two more free throws for a 93-84 lead with 1:25 remaining, but the Warriors had one more run, as Marquez sank two quick-fire three pointers to make it a three point game with 26 seconds left.  Jake Collagan was perfect on two free throw attempts after the Warriors fouled right away, and Marquez and Donny Craig were off the mark.  Dizel Wright broke away for a slam as time expired to put the exclamation point on the win.

In The Paint

• Ozzella becomes the 35th 1,000 point scorer in school history, and the third in three years to reach the mark.  Nate Howard did so in 2015-16, in the NCAA tournament against Christopher Newport, and Tom Doyle did the same in a game against Middlebury College in the 2014-15 season.
• The loss ended Eastern Connecticut's nine game winning streak, and moved the Owls to within one game of the Warriors in the LEC standings.  It was also the first conference loss of the year for ECSU.
• The 99 points were the most the Warriors had allowed in a game all season.
• Nichols, Edwards, and Ozzella all scored 20 points in the same game for the second time in two weeks, with the trio also doing it in a 92-77 win over Western Connecticut State on January 25.

Up Next

• Keene State embarks on a three game road trip, starting with a visit to UMass Boston on Saturday at 3 p.m.
• The Warriors host Rhode Island College on January 28, with a 3 p.m. tip-off scheduled.