A balanced Keuka College men's basketball team concluded the 2013 portion of the schedule with a 78-66 win over SUNY Cobleskill Sunday afternoon inside the Weed Physical Arts Center.
The Storm (4-4, 2-2 NEAC) placed five student-athletes in double-figures, led by junior Trevor Healey (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield), who scored 15 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals.
Junior Tyler Hixson (Shortsville, NY/Red Jacket) added 14 points and eight rebounds, sophomore Casey Williams (Syracuse, NY/Jamesville-DeWitt) had 14 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists as Keuka snapped a two-game conference losing streak.
Junior Adam Starks (Wellsville, NY/Andover) totaled 13 points and sophomore Vinney Zambito (Elba, NY/Batavia Notre Dame) added 11 points and a game-high seven assists in the win.
Keuka shot a season-best 55.8 percent (29-for-52), including connecting on 18 of 30 first-half shots (60 percent) in building a 47-31 halftime lead.
Hixson shot 63.6 percent (7-for-11), Starks shot 66.7 percent (4-for-6), Healey shot 60 percent (6-for-10) and Zambito shot 57.1 percent (4-for-7) to lead the Green and Gold.
Keuka enjoyed a 35-26 edge in rebounding.
The Storm started fast and led 9-2 three minutes in when Williams converted an old-fashioned three-point play.
The two schools traded baskets, and a '3' from Matthew Hutchinson pulled Cobleskill (1-7, 0-4 NEAC) within 20-16 with 12:10 left in the opening half, but Keuka went on an 11-0 run to seize control.
Starks and Zambito hit back-to-back jumpers, Zambito converted a fast-break layup and Starks drained a '3' to put the Storm up 29-16. Starks capped the run with a pair of free throws as Keuka took a 31-16 lead with 8:01 remaining in the half.
A jumper from Hixson gave Keuka its largest lead of the half, 40-20 with 3:45 remaining, and the Storm maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the half.
A layup from Hixson put the Storm up 49-31 30 seconds into the second, but the Tigers responded with a 9-0 run to pull within 49-40 on a '3' from Cortell King.
Healey and Hixson each made a pair of baskets and Starks knocked down a '3' to cap an 11-4 run and put the Storm up 60-44 with 13:16 remaining, and Keuka never led by less than nine points the rest of the game.
The Storm are off for the rest of 2013 and return to action with a 6 p.m. non-conference home game against RIT on Jan. 7, 2014.