GALLOWAY, N.J.--The Keene State College men's basketball team is one of 16 teams still left playing after the Owls escaped with a 74-72 win over Middlebury College in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday night.

Records

• Keene State: 20-10
• Middlebury: 18-11 

Up Next

• Keene State advances to its first Sweet 16 since 2007.   The Owls will play Christopher Newport (Va.) at a site to be determined.  The Captains advanced to the round of 16 with a 67-64 win over New York University.   The winner of that will meet the winner of Wooster (Ohio), a 91-83 overtime winner over Endicott, and Oswego State, who beat Gwynedd Mercy 78-77.  
• A sectional site will be announced on Sunday afternoon.  Game times will shortly follow. 

Tale of The Tape

• Keene State was led by 14 points each from Nate Howard, Ty Nichols, and Jaquel Edwards.  Matt Ozzella added 11.  
• Howard pulled down nine boards and blocked four shots as KSC overcame a 48-36 rebounding disadvantage.
• The win was also a measure of revenge for Keene State, who had lost to Middlebury 83-74 on February 2.  Keene State had not defeated the Panthers since 2012. 
• The Owls held Matt St. Amour, who had scored 32 points in the February meeting, to 18 points on 4-for-11 shooting.  

First Half Highlights

• Middlebury's Jake Brown made a pair of free throws for an early 9-7 lead, but Keene State went on an 11-0 run, capped by an Edwards three with 11:51 to go for an 18-9 lead.
• Back-to-back baskets by Nichols pushed the lead to 24-11 with 10:22 to go.
• Another triple from Edwards at the 6:08 mark extended the lead to 29-16.  Matt Daley's hoop with 45 seconds left cut the Owls lead to 41-29 at the break.

Second Half Highlights

• Keene State led throughout the second half, going up 49-36 when Lucas Hammel fed Nate Howard for a slam with 16:27 left.
• The Panthers stuck around, but Keene State had an answer.  Connor Huff knocked down a three with 10:12 to go to get within eight, only to see KSC rattled off the next six points to up the lead to 61-47.  
• When Ozzella scored inside with 1:25 remaining, KSC led 70-63 and looked to have the game wrapped up, but St. Amour nailed a three and Middlebury began fouling.  
• Jake Brown made another three that cut it to 72-69 with 51 seconds left, and after KSC turned it over, St. Amour laid it in to make it a one point game.
• Hammel restored the three point edge with two free throws, and the Owls put St. Amour at the line where he went 1-for-2.  Howard missed two free throws, but the Panthers final three attempts to tie the game would not fall, including St. Amour's shot at the buzzer.