Holding a slim 40-39 at the break, the Owls and Mountaineers exchanged leads throughout the second half. Gervais, who came into the game after Sullivan picked up his fourth foul early in the half, hit three straight shots to put KSC up 61-60 with just over eight minutes to play.
The Owls, who never trailed the rest of the way, had a fight off an inspired Southern Vermont team that was playing its first home game of the season.
Sullivan made two foul shots following a technical called on Tim Bonnett and then hit a jumper on KSC’s next possession to give KSC its biggest lead 79-70 with just over three minutes to play.
Bonnet hit a jumper to narrow KSC’s lead to one point (79-78) with 33 second to play. After a KSC time out, the Owls lost the ball when Joe Shaw’s (Concord, N.H.) pass slipped off the hands of Harley Davis (Newburyport, Mass.).
Chris Matte had a chance to win the game for the Mountaineers, but his three-point attempt at the buzzer hit off the rim.
“I think someone was looking out for us,” said a relieved KSC Coach Rob Colbert. “It was nice to win a game like this after losing one to Endicott last week.”
“We’re a young team and playing in games like this one will hopefully be a good learning experience for us,” he added.
Gervais, who gave the team a huge lift, was pleased to come in and make a major contribution. “It feels good to get in a game and make a contribution,” said the junior forward. “I knew when Sully came out; I had to step it up.”
David Sontag (Mont Vernon, N.H.) had 12 points, Shaw finished with 11 points and freshman Erik Schlacter (Marlborough, Mass.), who hit a couple of key three pointer down the stretch had 10 points to round out the double-figure scorers for the Owls. KSC hit eight of 14 three-point shots with Shaw netting three-of –five behind the arc.
Bonnett hit a game high 28 points and Nick Harrington finished with 15 points to lead Southern Vermont (0-4).
Keene State (4-1) returns to Spaulding Gym on Saturday (3 p.m.) for its LEC opener against UMass-Dartmouth.