WILLIMANTIC, Conn. --  The Keene State College men's basketball team sliced a nine-point deficit to two with just over three minutes remaining, but Eastern Connecticut State University junior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) denied the Owls' tying attempt with his fifth block of the game with 15 seconds left as the Warriors hung on for a 63-61 Little East Conference victory Wednesday evening at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

After senior guard Trachone Preston's (Enfield) three-point field goal with 3:29 left pushed Eastern (13-6, 7-1 LEC) into its largest lead, 61-52, the Warriors managed only two free throws the rest of the way but emerged with their sixth home win without a loss and maintained a one-game lead over Western Connecticut in the standings.

Keene (11-7, 4-4 LEC) missed three of its final four shots and one of two free throws over the final 1:23, with Lindo blocking two of the field goal attempts. Junior center Brandon Kuczenski (Naugatuck) grabbed the rebound of the second block with 15 seconds left to preserve Eastern's two-point lead. The Warriors missed two free throws with 9.9 seconds left, but the Owls couldn't convert their final attempt underneath with 1.4 seconds left.

With its eighth straight regular-season win over Keene, Eastern avoided its second two-game losing streak. The two-time defending champion and pre-season No. 1 pick, Eastern was trimmed at the University of Southern Maine, 77-76, Saturday.

The program's all-time leader with 132 blocked shots in 75 games (1.8 per game), Lindo swatted five shots for the fourth time this year, the total one shy of has career-high.

The double-double was the tenth straight this year for Lindo, who had 13 points, 13 rebounds and four steals to go along with his five blocked shots. Sophomore guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) sank five three-pointers and was 5-of-5 from the stripe en route to a game-high 24 points. Preston had ten points, four steals and three assists. Kuczenski pulled down six rebounds, including the decisive one with 15 seconds left.

The Warriors connected on 22 of 28 free throws, while Keene was 13-of-21 from the foul line. Junior forward Jeff Lunn paced four double-figure scorers for Keene with 15 points (6-of-7 from the floor), with junior guard Matt Ozzella and senior guard Nate Stitchell (eight assists) both contributing 11 and junior forward Jaquel Edwards coming off the bench for ten. Seven-foot senior center Nate Howard grabbed a team-high ten rebounds.

Eastern visits Rhode Island College Saturday at 3 p.m. in a conference game.