Box Score KEENE, N.H. – Senior Nate Stitchell (Coventry, R.I.) hit a pair of free throws with six seconds remaining to put the game out of reach as the Keene State College Owls held off the University of Southern Maine Huskies for a 73-70 Little East Conference men's basketball win Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.
With the win, Keene State improves to 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the Little East Conference. Southern Maine drops to 12-9 overall and 6-4 in the conference. Keene State and the Huskies have split the season series with each team winning on its home court.
Trailing by 10, 45-35, with 14:55 to play in the game, Southern Maine stormed back into the game outscoring the Owls 17-6 over the next seven minutes to take a 52-51 lead. After a pair of free throws from KSC senior Nate Howard (Cheshire, Conn.) made its 45-35, USM junior Atencio Martin (Kittery, Maine/Traip Academy) scored five unanswered points on a three and a layup. Howard interrupted the Martin's one-man rally, before Martin connected on a jumper to start a 9-2 run capped by a three-pointer from junior Zach Leal (York, Maine) to knot the game up at 49 with 10:09 to play. A KSC lay-in made it 51-49 in favor of the Owls on the next play, before Martin canned a three to give USM its first lead since the eight-minute mark of the first half, 52-51.
Over the next few plays, both teams traded shots and Howard made it 57-57 at the 6:48 mark with a jumper. Following Howard's jumper, USM ran off a 6-0 run on points from seniors Cole Libby (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) and Jose Nouchanthavong (Westbrook, Maine) and Martin to open up a 63-57 lead with 5:17 to play. Facing its largest deficit of the half, KSC responded with a 9-0 run, highlighted by a dunk from Howard, to move in front 66-63. Both teams battled until the end and senior Aaron Toman (Gardiner, Maine) converted a traditional three-point play in the final minute of the game to put the Huskies' within two of KSC, 70-68, with 31 seconds to play, but the Owls got just enough from the free throw line and the necessary defensive stop to seal the win.
Nouchanthavong led the Huskies with 18 points and six assists, while Libby added 17 points and five rebounds. Martin recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Toman tossed in 11 points off of the bench, adding seven rebounds.
Freshman Ty Nichols (Springfield, Mass./Putnam) led all scorers with 19 points for KSC, adding seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Howard completed the double-double with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, while Stitchell finished with 16 points, including a 7-for-10 effort from the free throw line.
Southern Maine hosts UMass Boston on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.) in a Little East Conference game. It will be part of USM Athletics' Town of Gorham Night and will feature a halftime scrimmage by the Gorham Recreation Department's third and fourth grade boys' teams. Keene State travels to Eastern Connecticut on Wednesday (7:30 p.m.).
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