GORHAM, Maine – A game that started with the story being the offenses ended with the Keene State College men's basketball team using their defense to pick up a big road victory.  Down six with 14:38 to go, the Owls held the University of Southern Maine to only 14 points over the remainder of the game as they surged to an 88-77 victory in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Hill Gymnasium.

The win gives KSC (11-9, 7-4 LEC) a season sweep of the Huskies (12-8, 7-4 LEC) and keeps them well within reach of the top of the standings, trailing second-place (and the final bye into the semifinals) Western Connecticut State University by just one game.  Southern Maine had been surging, featuring an unblemished 8-0 home record and were coming off a 42-point win (105-63) over first-place University of Massachusetts-Boston on Monday.

The home team trailed 48-45 at halftime but moved out to a six-point (63-57) lead – their largest of the game – with 14:38 left after consecutive layups by Noah Dowling and Thomas Whelan.  At that point the Huskies were shooting 56 percent in the game (and KSC 50 percent) and had gotten a combined 29 points from that duo.

From there, it was all Keene State, who completely shut down Southern Maine's offense to the tune of a 4-for-25 (16 percent) mark over the final 14 minutes.  KSC closed on a 31-14 push, with Mitch Shettles matching USM's point total in that span.  The Owl senior hit some of the biggest shots of the day, including a go-ahead triple with 12:31 left that put KSC up 65-63 and another on the following offensive trip to make it 68-65.  The Huskies tied it once more at 68 on Carter Galley's three at the 11:28 mark, but treys by Ryan Blakey and Shettles within a minute of each other helped KSC rattle off eight straight points for a 76-68 lead with 9:47 to go.  Jordan Cooper attacked the basket on consecutive possessions a few minutes later for a double-digit edge (80-70) while the Owls were holding the Huskies scoreless for over six minutes.  A jumper by Leo Chaikin with 3:28 on the clock gave KSC their largest lead at 82-70, and he came up with a huge bucket two minutes later after USM had scored seven straight to restore a seven-point lead with 1:24 left.  Two subsequent misses for the Huskies led to a pair of makes from Chaikin at the line to make it 86-77 with 41 seconds on the clock, and KSC was well on their way from there, posting their 10th consecutive win in the series and 50th all-time.

The Owls' victory moved them into a third-place tie with USM and Rhode Island College, who lost 61-57 at Vermont State University Castleton, at 7-4.  KSC currently holds the three-way tiebreaker to be in third with five games to go.

Shettles dominated in the second half, pouring in 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting including making all three of his attempts from deep.  Cooper added nine points and five boards in the final 20 minutes, with the pair backing a combined 28 points (14 apiece) on 11-of-16 shooting for Chaikin and Blakey in the first half.  KSC's "Big Three" in this game combined for 56 points on 21-of-35 shooting, 8-of-12 from three, 15 rebounds, five assists, and five steals.

The opening half was close throughout, as KSC opened leads of 10-4 and 12-6 early, but USM responded with a 19-8 surge to go up 25-20 halfway through the period.  Blakey scored five straight to wipe away that lead quickly, though, and the teams mostly traded points and the lead from there until Allyn Wright's layup with 24 seconds in the half left the Owls up three into the break thanks to 20-for-36 shooting from the floor including 5-for-11 from three.

"That team was 8-0 at home and coming off a 42-point win over Boston.  After a high-scoring first half, we told our guys that the tougher and more physical team that earned defensive stops in the second half was going to win the game," said KSC head coach Steve Enright.  "We were able to hold them to 32 percent from the field in the second half and 14 points over the final 14 minutes.  Massive winning plays from many in crunch time.  Ryan Blakey is the smallest guy on the court in every game we play but came up with a crucial defensive rebound in traffic.  Denis Wainaina had a huge chase-down block after a turnover and Mitch's scoring outburst mid-second half was pivotal.  Two charges from Gave Marquis in the first half and Leo Chaikin's steady second half on both sides of the ball including clutch late baskets show we had tons of winning plays all around.  Hopefully we can continue to build momentum from this."

Dowling (7-12 FG, 4-6 3-PT) led USM with 18 points while Whelan (7-18 FG, 0-5 3-PT) finished with 16.  Galley added 17 points (7-11 FG, 2-4 3-PT) off the bench.

KSC won 42-39 on the glass and committed only 10 turnovers.

The Owls return home to host Plymouth State University (6-13, 2-8 LEC) on Wednesday (February 4) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.  The Cheshire Cats jump rope team will perform at halftime of both games of the doubleheader.  Plymouth has lost six straight including 78-66 at home to WestConn today, winning just once since a 78-76 upset of KSC on January 6.  The Panthers are two games out of the final playoff spot and currently without the tiebreaker over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.