GORHAM, Maine — Senior forward Matt Wheeler (Shrub Park, N.Y.) registered game highs of 30 points and 17 rebounds and the Keene State College Owls withstood a determined effort by the host University of Southern Maine Huskies to post a 75-61 triumph in Little East Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Hill Gym.
Keene State, which was receiving votes in the most recent D3Hoops.com national poll, improved to a perfect 10-0 in the league and 17-4 overall, while Southern Maine slipped to 1-9 in the conference and 7-14 overall. The teams return to action on Tuesday, when the Owls welcome arch-rival Plymouth State to Keene, N.H., and the Huskies play host to UMass Boston.
A running jumper from sophomore Jason Levecque (Westbrook, Maine) pulled the Huskies within 67-61 with 1:26 remaining. However, the Huskies would not score again as the Owls closed the contest with an 8-0 run. Senior Chris Timson (Beverly, Mass.) hit a pair of lay ups, Wheeler added a lay up and junior Harley Davis (Newburyport, Mass.) contributed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds remaining to account for the final score.
The second half witnessed each team compile a large run, before the two defenses dominated over the final 10 minutes. A short jumper from Levecque pulled the Huskies to within 36-32 with 19:15 to play, but the Owls responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a pair of free throws from sophomore Ben Maynard (Nobleboro, Maine) to build a 47-34 edge with 14:27 to play.
Southern Maine answered with a 17-0 run, highlighted by three pointers from juniors Mike Francoeur (Somersworth, N.H.), Derek Lovely (Oxford, Maine) and Levecque to grab a 51-47 lead with 9:42 remaining.
The Owls took the lead for good at 54-52 on a put back of a missed shot by sophomore Sean Sullivan (Athol, Mass.) with 7:57 to play. After Wheeler made a single free throw to extend the lead to 55-52 with 7:39 to play, Southern Maine closed to 55-54 on a steal and lay up from junior Ryan Garland (Hermon, Maine) with 6:59 remaining. Keene State responded with a 7-0 run capped by a layup from Wheeler to build a 63-54 lead with 4:26 to play.
The Huskies pulled to within six points on three occasions, with the final time coming on Levecque’s jumper with 1:26 remaining.
Keene State also received 17 points from senior Alphonse Michalski (Northampton, Mass.) and 12 points and six assists from Timson.
For Southern Maine, Levecque registered a team-high 19 points and sophomore Jesse McKinnell (Manomet, Mass.) tallied 13 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.