KEENE, N.H. - Freshmen Nate Siow and Mason Jean Baptiste made a mark in their first-ever games at Spaulding Gymnasium.  The duo combined for 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting and 10 rebounds on Saturday afternoon as the Keene State College men's basketball team forged ahead with a big second half run before holding off Plymouth State University 74-73 in their first home contest in 350 days.

Records

• Keene State:  2-0, 2-0 LEC
• Plymouth State:  0-2, 0-2 LEC

How It Happened
In a game of spurts both ways, Keene State's mid-second half push proved to be the difference-maker, as they outscored the Panthers 22-4 over a 7:32 stretch of game action to turn a six-point deficit into a game-high 12-point lead (61-49).  Consecutive layups from Jeric Cichon and James Anozie with a little over ten minutes to go gave the Owls their first lead (50-47) since 4:28 remained in the first half, and the home team was not done, with Anozie's three-point play at the 8:30 mark making it 56-47.  Siow fed DeVon Beasley for a corner triple in transition off a Panther miss a little over a minute later to push the lead into double-figures, and the KSC advantage remained there after Siow's layup made it 66-56 with 5:38 left.  Down eight a minute later and six with 46 seconds left after the Owl freshman from Lowell, Mass. scored once more, Plymouth did not go away easily, as Dante Rivera connected from long range on the next possession to make it 72-69 and, following an Owl turnover, made one of two from the line to make it a two-point game.  Keene State still kept the door open by missing the front end of a one-and-one with 19 seconds remaining, giving the Panthers had a chance to tie or win in the waning seconds, but Kyler Bosse's three was off the mark and Siow grabbed the rebound before being fouled with less than a second on the clock.  He sank both from the line to ice the game.

KSC's second half uprising in which they shot 53 percent from the floor and made 5-of-12 (42%) from deep was a sharp contrast to a long stretch of the opening half when they were outscored 27-8 over the final 13:43.  The Owls had powerfully jumped out to an 18-7 edge, slicing apart Plymouth State's defense with ease mostly behind Jean Baptiste and Siow in the opening six minutes, but turnovers became a major problem as time wore on.  KSC committed 17 overall and wound up trailing 34-26 at halftime, shooting 31 percent (9-of-29) from the floor.  The miscues enabled Plymouth, who only shot 35 percent themselves and led for less than four minutes in the first half, to change the momentum of the game and head to the locker room with their largest lead of the game.

Siow shot 6-of-14 from the floor overall en route to scoring a team-high 17 points for Keene State.  He added six rebounds and two assists.  Jean Baptiste added 16 points (6-11 FG) and four rebounds.  Anozie finished with a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Jeff Hunter pulled down a game-high 12 boards for the Owls, who had a 43-31 edge on the glass.  Rivera led Plymouth with 16 points – seven of which came in the final 32 seconds – and eight assists on 6-for-11 shooting (3-5 3-PT).  Tom Johnson finished with 14 points, but the Panthers dropped a second straight close road game in similar fashion after falling at 67-64 at UMass-Dartmouth this past Wednesday night

Inside the Paint

• The Owls have won 12 of the last 15 matchups against their in-state counterparts.  The last three games, two won by KSC, have been decided by a total of nine points (two in overtime).
• KSC has dominated the paint in the opening two games this season, outscoring their opponents 98-64 in that category (38-24 today).  They also have an aggregate 105-76 rebounding advantage.
• Keene State had not seen action on their home court since February 22 of last year when they fell to eventual league champion Western Connecticut State University, 58-55.

Up Next

• Keene State welcomes Eastern Connecticut State University (0-1, 0-1 LEC) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off on Wednesday, February 10.
• Plymouth State visits Rhode Island College (1-2, 1-2 LEC) next Saturday (February 13) at 3:00 p.m.