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Owls to Battle Nationally Ranked Corsairs on Saturday
KEENE, N.H. 1/9/09 - When Keene State men's basketball coach Rob Colbert looked at his teams' Little East Conference schedule at the start of the season, he probably wasn't too pleased.
Already in the process of trying to incorporate nine new players into his program, Colbert and the Owls would be thrown to the wolves early by playing defending LEC champs Rhode Island College and nationally ranked University of Massachusetts in two of its first conference games of the season.
"Would I have liked to play those teams a little later in the schedule, sure," said Colbert. "But you play the schedule you have and hope for the best."
While Keene State (6-5) has struggled in several non-conference games, including a tough 73-70 loss to SUNY-New Paltz on Tuesday, the Owls are undefeated (2-0) in Little East play so far this season.
After taking care of Southern Maine (73-64) in its LEC opener, KSC shocked RIC (85-81) in overtime right before the holiday break. Returning to Spaulding Gym for the first time since Nov. 25, the Owls will see if they can play giant killers again on Saturday (3 p.m.) when they host UMass-Dartmouth (10-1, 2-0 LEC), ranked 20th in the D3Hoops poll.
As far as Colbert is concerned the timing of the key LEC game doesn't come at a good time. "Right now I'm more focused on our team and stabilizing the line-up," he said. "Saturday's game with be a gauge of how well we're doing."
Change is still the operative word around the Owls, who recently welcomed Nate DiSessa, a sophomore transfer from Elms College to the team. Thrown right into the fire with a start on Tuesday, the Westfield, Mass native showed he could handle the point guard job, scoring 11 points and dishing out seven assists against New Paltz.
The Owls will have their hands full against the Corsairs. Winners of six straight, UMD, who edged Roger Williams (69-68) in overtime on Wednesday, boast the top offense (77.0 ppg) in the league and one of its top players, junior forward Brandon Shelton. Shelton, averaging 16.7 ppg., was named the Division III player for the month of December by DIII News.
As expected, Keene State, second in team offense (78.3 ppg.) have been led by the senior tandem of Tyler Kathan (14.9 ppg, 9.4 rpg.) and Nate Anderson (13.2 ppg., 8.5 rpg). Both players are among the LEC leaders in scoring and are one-two in rebounding. Kathan needs just eight points to become the fifth Owl to reach the 1,500-point career milestone.
The two teams have had some memorable clashes over the years. The Owls, who own a 17-9 lead in their LEC series, have twice lost to the Corsairs in the LEC champion game in 1998 (81-79) and 2001 (99-89, OT).
Last season, KSC and UMD split their two regular season games with the Corsairs winning 100-97 in North Dartmouth and the Owls posting a white-out 92-95 upset win against the Corsairs, who came into Spaulding Gym ranked second in Division III with a 19-0 record.
With the students away for the semester break, no white-out is planned for Saturday. Maybe the snow forecast will be a good omen.
