KEENE, N.H. –  The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team committed more than 20 turnovers for the third time in the last seven games and Keene State College shot 53 percent in a 52-point second half as the Warriors had a season-high three-game winning streak spoiled in a 92-66 Little East Conference loss Wednesday evening at Spaulding Gymnasium.
 
With its seventh road loss in ten outings, Eastern (9-12, 6-6 LEC) falls a spot into fifth place in the LEC (it began the night sharing fourth place), a half-game behind the University of Massachusetts Boston and University of Southern Maine and a half-game ahead of University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. UMass Boston lost at UMass Dartmouth, 88-72, Wednesday and Southern Maine was idle.
 
Against Keene (20-1, 12-0 LEC), Eastern senior Jalen Williams (Simsbury) scored 13 points in the first half to help Eastern lead by as many as 13 points, but Keene used a 12-2 scoring run early in the second half to move out to a 12-point, 56-44 five minutes into the half and Eastern was unable to close the gap to single digits the rest of the way.
 
Eastern led for the first 18 minutes of the game  before Keene closed the half on a 12-2 scoring run that turned Eastern's five-point lead into a five-point Keene advantage by the half.
 
A run of eight straight points midway through the first half had vaulted the Warriors into its 13-point lead, 19-6, nine minutes into play. Williams got it going with a jumper, then nailed a three-point field goal off a defensive rebound from senior forward Rakesh Tibby (East Hartford), and a steal by senior guard Tyreice Woods (Hartford) set up senior forward Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) for two more points. Lott added a free throw moments later to make it 19-6.
 
Williams was limited to two second-half points and shared team-high scoring honors with Woods, both with 15. The pair combined on 13-of-26 shooting from the floor. Williams moved to within six points of 1,000 in his college career, 391 coming as a freshman at Pine Major College.
 
Lott had eight points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench and Woods added five assists and three steals.
 
Eastern committed 23 turnovers (16 on Keene steals), which led to 22 of Keene's points.
 
All five of Keene's starters finished in double figures, led by Octavio Brito (20). Jeff Hunter had 11 points and ten rebounds (he had 20/20 earlier against Eastern) and Nate Siow ten points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Siow managed only two points in 18 minutes in the first game against Eastern this year.
 
Eastern played its second game without second-leading scorer Dominick Dao (Terryville), who  contributed  12 points in Eastern's 70-58 home loss to Keene Jan. 10
 
The top six teams in the nine-team conference qualify for the LEC tournament, with the top two seeds gaining first-round byes and higher seeds hosting lower seeds Feb. 21.
 
Beginning Saturday at 3 p.m. against Castleton University, Eastern plays three straight LEC regular-season games at home before winding up the regular season Feb. 15 at Western Connecticut State University.
 
The Warriors have split against their final four LEC opponents, defeating Castleton (58-48) and Rhode Island College (73-64) on the road, losing on the road to the University of Southern Maine (87-78) and at home to WestConn (98-91 in overtime).