Chris Timson of Keene State poured in 22 points, while teammates Matthew Wheeler and Sean Sullivan kept pace with 18 apiece to lead the Owls past the UMass Boston men’s basketball team, 84-73. The loss for the Beacons dropped the record to 4-15 and 1-8 in Little East Conference play.

It was not a good week for the team. UMass Dartmouth came to the Clark Athletic Center last Tuesday and pulled out a 85-79 win. The two losses leave the Beacons in tied for last place in the conference with Southern Maine.

The Owls have been one of the better LEC teams in the last few years. This season, Keene State has run out to an impressive 16-3 overall record. The team remains perfect at 9-0 in LEC competition. The Owls came into the game ranked 24th in the nation according to a D3hoops.com poll.

The Beacons, nonetheless, made the Owls earn their victory. The lead exchanged hands several times in the first half. Although Keene State dominated on the offensive and defensive boards, the Beacons outshot their counterparts from three-point land (11 treys to 2 for the Owls).

Keene State had a considerable size advantage on UMB in the post, but the Beacons did a good job converting on the fast break. Juniors Roger Perry and Eric Summerville pushed the ball up the floor every chance they could in order to create an advantage in numbers.

UMB kept the game within shouting distance for most of the second half, but fouls began to pile up on the Beacons. The Owls converted twice as many free throws as the Beacons (28-14) and made enough defensive stops to build a comfortable double-digit lead to cruise to the win.

Perry and Summerville led the Beacons with 19 points apiece.

The Beacons will be at home on Thursday, February 5 against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The team will then next be in action on Saturday, February 7 on the road against Rhode Island College, who beat UMB earlier in the season 89-65 at the Clark Athletic Center.