The Owls improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference with the victory. Keene State has won the last nine meetings between the two teams. Southern Maine dropped to 4-8 overall and 1-2 in LEC play.
The Owls got off to a blazing start, taking a 15-2 lead before the game was even three minutes old. Freshman Erik Schlacter (Marlborough, Mass.) had the hot hand knocking down three three-pointers, and Gervais added four points.
Southern Maine clawed its way back within three (22-19) with 11:37 to play in the half as juniors Jesse McKinnell (Manomet, Mass.) and Bill Hardwick (Boothbay, Maine) and sophomore Foster Oakley (Farmington, Maine) each had four points.
A 12-0 run by the Owls, highlighted by a pair of trifectas by Sontag, gave the visitors a 34-19 advantage. The Keene State lead would go as high as 22 before settling at 18 (46-28) at the half.
The Huskies came out of the locker room with an 18-7 run to get back within seven (53-46) with 15 minutes to play. Freshman Josh Daniels (Seattle, Wash.) had a pair of three-pointers and McKinnell had six points. USM was still with 10 (69-59) with 7:29 to play.
Gervais ignited an 8-0 run to push the visitors’ lead back up to 18 (77-59) with 5:16 to play. USM made one last surge at the Owls to get within 12 (81-69) on a three-point bucket by senior Mike Francoeur (Somersworth, N.H.) with 3:26 left, but that would be the last points the Huskies would score.
Schlacter paced six Owls in double figures, taking game-high scoring honors with 19 points. Gervais added 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Sontag had 15 points and 13 rebounds. Freshmen Kevin Ritter (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) and Anthony Licitra (Glastonbury, Conn.) each had 12 points, and rookie Nick Drouin (Weare, N.H.) chipped in 10.
McKinnell had a “double-double” for the Huskies, scoring a team-high 15 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Daniels with 11 points and senior Jason Levecque (Westbrook, Maine) with 10 also reached double figures.
Keene State shot 42 percent (29 for 69) from the floor, including 34.5 percent (10 for 29) from beyond the arc. The Owls enjoyed a 49-35 advantage on the boards.
Southern Maine finished the game shooting 33.8 percent (22 for 65) from the floor.
The Huskies will travel to Providence, R.I., on Tuesday to take on Rhode Island College in an LEC match-up. Keene State will travel to Danbury, Conn., to play Western Connecticut State University in a conference game.