Box Score
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – In the final analysis, the difference was on the boards and at the foul line, as the four-time defending Little East Conference champion Keene State College men's basketball team out-rebounded Eastern Connecticut State University by 21 in holding the Warriors 20-plus points below their season scoring average in a 73-57 men's basketball victory Wednesday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

Bringing in its longest winning streak in seven weeks, Eastern (15-9, 7-8 LEC)  lost for the first time after four straight wins and for the tenth straight time to Keene (14-10, 10-5 LEC). Since losing its first three games of the season – two of them to nationally-ranked teams – Keene has gone 14-7 and heads into its regular-season finale against visiting Rhode Island College having won eight of its last ten. Keene shares third place in the LEC with idle University of Southern Maine and is assured, at worst, of hosting a first-round tournament game Tuesday.

With one game remaining in the regular season, Eastern enters Saturday's home game against Plymouth State University locked in a three-way tie for fifth place with the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and Rhode Island College. The Warriors entered play Wednesday sharing fifth place with Rhode Island College, but UMass Dartmouth upended conference leader University of Massachusetts Boston, 95-90, Wednesday on the road to pull even with Eastern and RIC (the Anchormen lost at home Wednesday night to Western Connecticut State University, 83-70).

Two of those three teams who are tied for fifth will qualify for the LEC tournament.

Against Eastern Wednesday, Keene used an 11-4 advantage in offensive rebounds (49-28 in all) to outscore the Warriors, 13-1, on second-chance points. Six-foot-10 inch sophomore center Denis Wainaina of Keene led both teams with 11 rebounds, with seven coming when Keene outscored Eastern by 12 points over the final 20 minutes.

The Warriors did themselves no favors at the foul line in the game. Although Keene outscored Eastern by only four from the stripe, the Warriors couldn't capitalize at the foul line, where they missed ten of 16 attempts in forfeiting a possible ten uncontested points.

Eastern led virtually throughout the first half – and by six points eight minutes into action – before senior forward Leo Chaikin gave Keene only its second lead, 27-26,  and a lead it would not give up with a jumper with 3:28 left in the first half.

Keene got out quickly in the second and did not let up, outscoring Eastern 23-10 over the first 12 minutes of the second half to take command by 17 points, 56-39. The Warriors were able to slice the deficit to single digits with 3:30 left, but team season scoring leader Jordan Cooper, a six-foot junior guard, swished a three-point field goal attempt from the left side to allow his team to reaming a double-digit lead.

Averaging 11.1 points per game, senior forward Leo Chaikin gave Keene a big boost after the half when he scored 15 of his game-high 23 points (7-of-10 FG) and grabbed five of his eight rebounds in the second half. Senior guard Mitch Shettles and freshman guard Allyn Wright added an additional sport when they came off the bench to combine for 21 points, grabbing eight rebounds and handing out four assists.

With 13 points, Cooper was held eight points under his scoring average of 20.3 points, but that three-pointer with just under three minutes left represented the dagger for the Owls.

Senior guard Ray Carter (Springfield, MA) kept Eastern in the game in the first half, where he scored all 14 of his points (he took only three second-half shots) on 5-of-8 field goal shooting (3-of-6 from distance). Senior forward Jalen Hamblin (West Hartford) had 11 points and four rebounds (combining with Carter to go 10-of-21 from the floor), junior forward Drew Soltis (Bridgeport) six rebounds and three blocked shots and junior forward Julian Sanchez (Willimantic) came off the bench for nine points and six rebounds.

Eastern has won 14 of its last 16 against Plymouth (7-17, 3-12 LEC), including a 74-66 verdict five weeks ago at Foley Gymnasium. The Panthers, who will not qualify for the LEC playoffs, snapped a ten-game losing streak Wednesday with a 64-51 home decision over VTSU Castleton. In the win over Plymouth, Hamblin led four double-digit scorers with 22 points (12-of-14 FT) and a game-high 12 rebounds. As a team, Eastern was 25-of-31 from the foul line. Plymouth played that game without top scorer Yansel Reyes, a 6-foot-3 inch senior guard.