Springfield, Mass. – November 26, 2013 – The Springfield College men’s basketball team won its third-straight game on Tuesday, beating visiting Keene State, 82-65 in Blake Arena. Simon Kilday (Arlington, Va.) led the Pride with 17 points.

Springfield improves to 3-0 with the win while the Owls fall to 0-4 on the season. This marks the third-straight season that Springfield has started with three-straight wins to begin the year.

Keene State came out with a quick 9-0 lead to start the game, but the Pride quickly erased it on nine-straight points by Kilday. Springfield took its first lead of the game on a basket by Tim Swenson (Millbury, Mass.) to make it 11-9 with 14:53 left in the first half. The Pride never trailed from that point.

After Keene State’s Matt Ozzella (Medway, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer with 9:52 left in the first to make it a 22-18 Springfield lead, the Pride went on a 21-4 run spanning 9:42. The Owls ended the first half on a three-pointer by Tre Tipton (Stamford, Conn.) with nine ticks left on the clock. Springfield held a 43-25 lead at halftime.

The Owls opened up the second half with an 11-6 burst, capped off by a Howard inside bucket to make it a 13-point game at 49-36 with 16:06 to go. However, Springfield responded to take back control of the contest with a 8-0 push to regain a 21-point cushion with 12:35 on the clock. The visitors would get as close as 14, but in the end, the Pride held on for a 17-point win.

Kilday put up 15 of his 17 points in the first half, shooting 6-of-8 from the field. Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Mass.) put up 15 points and pulled down five rebounds. Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) added 12 points, dished out seven assists and had two steals while Alex Garstka (Westfield, Mass.) finished the day with 10 points, going a perfect 3-for-3 for behind the arc.

Swenson was big defensively for the Pride, racking up five blocks and 10 rebounds. The senior also added seven points. Larry Piretra (Oakland, N.J.) was big on the boards, pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. For the game, Springfield shot 29-of-59 (49.2%) and was 7-for-18 (38.9%) from behind the arc.

Keene State was led by Nate Howard (Cheshire, Conn.) who put up 17 points and had six rebounds. Tipton had 15 points and five boards while Ozzella added nine points and seven rebounds. The Owls shot 33.8% on 22-of-65

Springfield scored 36 of its points in the paint and had 23 points come off the bench.The Owls’ bench was also good, putting up 22 points. Springfield led by as much as 21 in the win.

Springfield will take a short break for Thanksgiving before it jumps on a plane to compete at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational in Pittsburgh on Saturday and Sunday. The Owls will be back in action next Tuesday, traveling to Plattsburgh State for a 7:00 p.m. start.