Keene, N.H. - Senior guard Lucas Hammel (Methuen, Mass.) scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Keene State College Owls to a 76-66 victory over the visiting Trinity College in men's basketball action this evening.  Trinity drops to 1-3, while the No. 13-ranked Owls stay undefeated at 5-0 with their first-ever win over the Bantams.

Trinity battled back from a 16-point deficit in the second half and pulled to within a bucket at 57-55 with 8:39 left in the game after a layup by first-year guard Nick Seretta (Greenfield, Mass.) and a three-pointer by junior Eric Gendron (Merrimack, N.H.).  Keene State answered with a 13-4 run and held the Bantams off until the end.  The game featured 66 fouls, over 30 by each team.  Three Bantams starters fouled out and two more Trinity players finished with four fouls, while all five Keene State starters and one reserve finished with four fouls apiece. 

Gendron netted the first bucket of the game on a three point attempt, but the Owls responded with a 9-2 run.  The Bantams closed to 19-17 with 11:56 remaining on Gendron's jumper, but Keene State went on a 13-3 run for a 32-20 lead.  A a three point play by junior guard Dizell Wright (Springfield, Mass.) with 3:20 to go in the first half that made it 41-27, and the Owls led, 44-32, at the break.

The Bantams missed their first four shots of the half, and a Deonte Vinson layup with 16:34 on the clock gave Keene State a 52-36 lead.  Trinity kept chipping away, getting within eight  at53-45 on a drive by senior guard Langdon Neal (Chicago, Ill.) at the 12:09 mark.  Trinity stayed within two points on a layup by senior co-captain C Ed Ogundeko (Brooklyn, N.Y.) with 7:49 on the clock, but Matt Ozzella's jumper from the right elbow gave the Owls a 62-57 lead and the Owls scored eight of the next 10 points.  Hammel then went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 1:16 to salt away the win.

Gendron led the Bantams with 17 points and added six rebounds, while Seretta added 12 off the bench, sinking eight of nine free throws, and Ogundeko had 10 points.  Senior co-captain Chris Turnbull (Ridgwwood, N.J.) also had six boards.  The Owls also held a slim 38-33 lead on the boards, led by a game high eight from Ozzella.