KEENE, N.H. – Wednesday night saw perhaps another sign of growth for the Keene State College men's basketball team as the regular season hits its most important stretch.  After seeing a 16-point first half lead and 14-point halftime lead turn into a 71-63 deficit with less than seven minutes to go, the Owls refused to lose, using a 25-10 surge down the stretch to keep within reach of the league's top seeds as they beat the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 88-83 at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Senior Leo Chaikin turned in his second straight impressive performance in three days, barely missing out on matching his season-high with 22 points on 6-of-10 shooting including a perfect 10-of-10 mark at the free throw line while also grabbing nine rebounds.  He was dominant down the stretch as the Corsairs (9-8, 3-5 LEC) had no answers for his drives to the basket – 14 of his points came in the game-deciding run.  Classmate Mitch Shettles added six points in the same span and matched Chaikin with an efficient 22 points (8-12 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 4-4 FT).  It was his jumper with 3:14 to go that put KSC back on top (78-76), and after consecutive three-point misses from Nic Boyd – who had been scorching earlier in the half – Chaikin was 4-for-4 from the charity stripe on the next two possessions with a big rebound mixed between to power the Owls to an 82-76 edge with 2:15 left.  Three-point marksman Camden DiChiara capitalized on a second-chance three ball on UMD's next possession to keep the visitors within a possession (82-79) at the 1:44 mark, and Danny Reyes' layup after a KSC (9-8, 5-3 LEC) miss made it a one-point game with still over a minute to go.  But Mahdee McNair fouled Chaikin with 50 seconds on the clock and the Connecticut native calmly sank two big free throws.  Jordan Cooper fouled Boyd in the backcourt to give UMass-Dartmouth a one-and-one, but Boyd missed the front end and Shettles grabbed the board before knocking down a huge, contested baseline jumper over Boyd with 22.3 left for a five-point (86-81) Owl lead.  UMD then chewed up over 10 seconds of the clock before DiChiara missed.  Shettles grabbed another board and made two more from the line, and just like that KSC has won three straight and four of five to move over .500 on the season.

For a while in the second half, it seemed the Owls might be headed for a tough defeat after thoroughly controlling the first half and causing all kinds of problems for UMass-Dartmouth's offense, which shot only 29 percent in the opening 20 minutes and saw two people (McNair and Ryan Flauto) score 23 of their 27 points.  Those went away rapidly out of the locker room, as Boyd sizzled for 16 points and the Corsairs made 18 of their first 26 shots from the field (69 percent) and 6-of-9 from three in a prolonged 44-22 run that took 13:17 and left them ahead 71-63 with less than seven minutes to go.  A Shettles bucket with 13:34 to go still had the Owls up 11 (57-46) and it seemed they might have enough offensive answers, but they made just one field goal in a 6:19 span and missed four threes to eventually fall behind.  UMD's first lead of the second half came on Boyd's trey with 8:32 left, and after KSC misfired on an answering triple, Boyd connected again on the next trip and Flauto's inside basket with 7:06 left suddenly made it 69-63 for the visitors.  However, when the Owls needed their defense – just as they did on Monday night at Middlebury College when they forced crucial late turnovers – they got it, limiting UMD to just 3-of-11 from the field down the stretch.

The first half was mostly all Keene State, as Isaac Ogutuga and Shettles buried triples on consecutive possessions for a 12-8 lead seven minutes in, with the lead slowly ballooning to six with 9:54 left in the period.  UMD chipped their deficit to two a minute later, but KSC attacked the basket and reeled off a 10-0 run to go in front by 12.  The Corsairs briefly got within six, but the Owls had a quick answer, as Liam Johnston's trey gave KSC a 36-23 lead at the 2:04 mark.  Ogutuga buried another on the next offensive trip, and a Ryan Blakey steal that led to a fastbreak layup for Joshua Williams had the Owls up 16 (41-25) with 48 seconds to go in the half.

KSC improved to 24-9 all-time against UMass-Dartmouth at home and is 40-28 all-time in the series.

Shettles and Chaikin combined to go 14-for-22 from the field and 14-of-14 at the line while grabbing 14 rebounds.  Kareem Porter Jr. led KSC with 11 boards while Cooper added 13 points and three assists.  The Owls had a 40-32 edge on the glass and were impressive from the line, going 22-of-26 (85 percent).

Flauto had a 24-point, 13-rebound double-double to pace UMD, who has dropped four of five and is 2-5 away from home.  The Corsairs had a chance to muddle the LEC standings even further, but are now in a sixth-place tie with Eastern Connecticut State University at 3-5 (having beaten the Warriors by 12 on the road) and two games behind the Owls.

KSC will try to ascend further in the league standings and avenge and earlier loss when they travel to face the University of Massachusetts-Boston (11-6, 7-1 LEC) on Saturday (January 24) for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.  The Beacons won 74-69 at Spaulding Gymnasium in December and are currently in first place as the league slate begins its second half of the double round-robin schedule.  UMB downed last-place Vermont State University Castleton 88-65 at home this evening, while second place University of Southern Maine (6-2 LEC) handled Plymouth State University 77-69 on the road.  KSC is currently locked in a three-way tie at 5-3 with Rhode Island College (a 99-92 winner at Eastern Connecticut tonight) and Western Connecticut State University (bye tonight).