Keene Outlasts Men's Hoops

KEENE, N.H. -The Plymouth State men's basketball team lost a barn-burner affair Tuesday night to Keene State. Keene (14-8) was led by the hot shooting of Senior Eric Frazio who piled in 20 points and seven rebounds.

The game was a highly competitive contest throughout, as the margin between the two teams never grew more than four points until the closing moments. Fazio played well from the outset, scoring 11 of the Owls first 19 points. Keene would lead by as many as seven in the first half, but the Panthers refused to back down. The Panthers used a 10-2 run in the closing minutes of the half to narrow the deficit to 31-30. With just seconds remaining in the frame, Junior Petey Skevas would score two of his team high 18 points with an off balance jumper at the buzzer, giving the Panthers a slim 35-34 lead at the half.

The second half remained just as competitive as the first. Keene Sophomore Tom Doyle, who chipped in11 points and 8 rebounds, was a force in the final minutes. After pulling down two key offensive rebounds, his put-back score gave the Owls a 62-56 advantage with only a minute to play. Two Ryan Martin free throws would up Keene's lead to 64-56 with just 50 seconds remaining.

As was the theme of the night, though, the Panthers would not give in. Senior Matt Cloutier drained a clutch three pointer with 35 seconds to play, but two more Doyle free throws would close out the scoring for the evening.

Among other strong contributors for PSU were freshman Uche Nwokeji, who notched another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore Alex Burt who scored 14 points. Also playing well for the Panthers was senior Kevin Eisenberg who finished with 10 points.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 2-9 in LEC play and 6-16 overall.