PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Dwayne Robinson-O'Hagan banked home a floater from the right side of the lane with 18.4 seconds left and those proved to be the winning points as the Keene State College men's basketball team was upset by Rhode Island College 67-66 in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at The Murray Center.

It is the second consecutive Saturday in which the Owls (20-5, 14-2 LEC) lost by one point in a league road game.  Last week at Western Connecticut State University, KSC erased a 19-point second half deficit but could not take the lead and then fell when the Wolves made one of two free throws following a controversial foul call.  Today, the Owls climbed out of holes of 47-37 and 53-45 in the second half to lead by four with 3:11 to go but could not hold on.  Rhode Island College (15-10, 10-6 LEC), who at one point was 6-0 in league play before losing six of nine, closed the game on a 6-1 push over the final 2:12 to post a Senior Day win despite not making a three (0-for-5) and shooting 37 percent from the field in the second half.  KSC, meanwhile, did not make another field goal after Wesley Odiase gave the Owls a 62-59 lead with 4:47 to go, and shot just 32 percent (9-for-28) in the final 20 minutes.  Even still, they had outscored RIC 28-14 in a 12:08 span of the half to flip their largest deficit into their largest lead, holding the Anchormen to just 3-for-14 from the field and forcing six turnovers.  But KSC missed their final five shots from the field and RIC made their last three, two from Robinson-O'Hagan.

Trouble was brewing for the Owls in the first half, when after Leo Chaikin's offensive rebound putback made it 17-14 at the 11:49 mark, KSC was outscored 19-4 over the next seven minutes to fall into a 12-point deficit.  They answered with a 10-0 burst to get right back within two (33-31) with 1:34 to go, but a layup by Xavier Mendez made it 37-33 at the break.  In their first trip around the league, Keene State led by an average of 19.25 points at the half.  Since, in their second trip, their average halftime margin is plus-2.25, though they have trailed in four of their last seven LEC games including in both losses.

The defeat did not alter the league standings, as both teams were locked into their respective positions – Keene State the top seed and Rhode Island College No. 3.  It did, however, snap the Owls' 12-game winning streak in the series (10 by double-figures) that included a 101-87 win at Spaulding Gymnasium last month.  Also, as of Sunday morning's official NCAA Power Index rankings, which will be used to determine the NCAA tournament field in eight days, KSC dropped from No. 25 to No. 34 (the last current projected at-large team sits at No. 44; Rhode Island College is at No. 123).  Prior to last weekend's loss at WestConn (NPI No. 101), the Owls saw themselves at No. 14 and looking at possibly hosting the NCAA first and second rounds for a third consecutive season.  Regardless, their attention will now shift to attempting to become the first team in Little East Conference history to win four consecutive league tournament championships when they tip-off in the semifinals on Thursday night against either No. 4 seed University of Massachusetts-Boston or No. 5 seed University of Southern Maine.  USM clinched that spot with a 110-87 road win over Vermont State University Castleton today, splitting the season series after losing to the Spartans by 10 in overtime previously.  The only other spot to be determined was the No. 6 seed, which went to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth despite a 96-94 home loss to WCSU because Eastern Connecticut State University fell at Plymouth State University 65-57.  Keene State swept both possible semifinal opponents, beating Southern Maine 116-81 on the road and 101-84 in Keene and UMass-Boston 82-71 in Boston and 116-87 at Spaulding Gymnasium.

In the regular season finale, the Owls could not overcome being dominated on the glass 51-26, allowing 21 offensive rebounds.  Ousmane Kourouma, who missed a pair of blowout losses for the Anchormen in the two most recent outings, had 22 boards himself – including 10 on the offensive end while also scoring 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting.  O'Hagan finished with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting and Mendez added 11 points (4-8 FG).

Octavio Brito led the way for KSC with 13 points but was only 4-of-9 from the field.  He added eight rebounds, seven steals, and two blocks.  Mason Jean Baptiste (3-9 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 4-4 FT) chipped in 12 points and Mitch Shettles 11 (3-8 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-3 FT) and four rebounds, but the Owls were outscored 40-22 in the paint.  They hung around by forcing 21 RIC turnovers that led to 30 points (the home team turned nine KSC turnovers into six points).  KSC's 36 percent (21-58) effort from the field was tied for the second worst mark of the season.  They actually won when recording their lowest percentage of the season, beating Western New England University in the season-opener on November 16 despite a 34.4 percent showing.  However, they fell to 3-4 when making single-digit threes (they are 17-1 otherwise).

"Tonight was a disappointing effort," said Keene State head coach Steve Enright.  "We struggled offensively and really struggled on the defensive glass.  The positive is we have still won the regular season and will turn our focus toward our prep for Thursday's semifinal matchup at home and throwing a great punch in the Little East tournament.  On to the postseason."

Thursday night's game will tip off at 7:00 p.m. and fans are encouraged to wear red.  KSC is 39-20 (.680) all-time in the LEC tournament and is seeking their eighth league championship overall.  Rhode Island College hosts No. 6 seed UMass-Dartmouth in a quarterfinal Tuesday night.  The Anchormen won the first meeting in North Dartmouth 87-85, but then suffered a nine-point home loss to the Corsairs a month later.