LANCASTER, Pa. – Ty Nichols surpassed the 1,800 career point plateau and moved into third place on Keene State College's all-time men's basketball scoring list as the Owls pulled away from Delaware Valley University 83-72 on Sunday afternoon at the Mayser Center.

Records

• Keene State:  6-4
• Delaware Valley:  6-6

How It Happened

Nichols finished with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, six rebounds, five assists, and a steal on the afternoon.  James Anozie chipped in 16 points, five rebounds and an assist, while Miguel Prieto had 13 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block for the Owls, who shot 50% from the floor in the contest and 56% in the second half.  Damian Washington paced Delaware Valley with 25 points.

The Owls raced out to a 9-1 lead in less than three minutes thanks to three long distance shots, two from DeVon Beasley.  The Aggies chipped away, scoring eight of the next 10 points to get back within two, but KSC answered right back, as a three from Paul Mahon and a Nichols bucket and free throw helped make it a 19-11 game at the 11:25 mark.  The Owls' offense slowed after that, as they managed only five points over the next 6:51 and were outscored 14-5, allowing Delaware Valley to take their first lead of the game (25-24) on Washington's three with 4:51 left in the first half.  Layups from Nichols and Prieto over the next two minutes helped put Keene State back in front, and a pair of buckets from Ben Olson down the stretch gave the Owls a 33-31 halftime lead.

The second half was close for the first 16 minutes, as DVU never led by more than one and Keene State never more than five until there were less than four minutes remaining.  A Nichols basket opened the scoring, but the Aggies rallied for a 36-35 lead with five straight points.  KSC went inside to Anozie on consecutive possessions to restore a four-point advantage, and it was his two free throws that made it 44-40 with 15:51 to go.  After Delaware Valley retook the lead once more, Mahon responded with a triple, and consecutive Nichols jumpers made it 51-47 with a little under 11 minutes to go.  However, the Owls struggled to gain much separation.  Nichols was fouled and converted the three-point play for a five-point lead with 7:03 left, and it was still 63-58 after Mahon sank three from the charity stripe on the next possession, but the Aggies fought back to tie it, the last of which came at 65-65 with 4:41 to go.  KSC pulled away after that thanks to Prieto, who buried consecutive triples for a 71-65 lead that helped spark a 12-0 surge.  A few moments later, Nichols fed Olson for a layup and then made two from the line as the Owls went up double-digits for the first time with a little over three minutes to go.  The Aggies never got closer than nine after that, and Keene State's lead grew to 15 after Anozie's dunk at the 1:33 mark.

Inside the Paint

• Nichols surpassed Tyler Kathan '09 on the all-time KSC scoring list and now has 1,806 career points.  Next up is Chris Coates '01, who tallied 1,970 points as an Owl.  Nichols is currently 17th among active career scoring leaders across all divisions of men's basketball.
• KSC made 28-of-56 from the floor in the contest and 9-of-24 (38%) from three while holding Delaware Valley to 38% (24-of-63) shooting overall and 8-of-27 (30%) from three.
• The Owls overcame 15 second half turnovers with the hot shooting and a wide 20-11 rebounding advantage in the stanza.
• It was Keene State's first ever matchup against the Aggies, who are located in Doylestown, Pa. and a member of the Middle Atlantic - Freedom Conference.

Up Next

• Keene State opens the New Year with a visit to No. 5 Hamilton College for a first-ever meeting with the Continentals on Thursday, January 3 at 1:30 pm.  It will be the Owls' fourth matchup with a ranked team this season.
• Delaware Valley hosts Muhlenberg College on Friday, January 4 at 7:00 pm.