Playing without coach Rob Colbert, home with an undisclosed illness, Keene State got taken to the wire but rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to win at Plymouth State 58-57.

The 23rd-ranked Owls maintained their spot atop the Little East standings, improving to 15-2 overall and 7-1 in conference play. PSU was handed its third straight defeat and fell to 8-11 overall and 1-7 in the LEC.

Plymouth State scored the first nine points and jumped out to a 25-14 lead, 37-25 at the half. The Panthers extended the lead to 43-26 in the second half before the Owls outscored the Panthers 17-4 over the next 10 minutes to pull to within four points (47-43) with eight minutes to play.

Plymouth State maintained a slight lead until the Owls tied it at 53-53 with 2:07 remaining. Keene State led by one (54-53) with 1:45 to play when Devin Ruocco nailed a three from the corner to put PSU back on top. Tyler Kathan answered with a basket to tie the game at 56-56 with a minute left. Chris Wilkinson made one of two free throws to put the Panthers ahead, but Kathan converted an offensive rebound into what turned out to be the winning basket with 28 seconds remaining.

The Panthers had two attempts for a winning basket in the closing seconds, but both shots hit the rim and fell out. Gino Vallante on the call for Fast Break Broadcasting. Audio clip.

Kathan and Nick Drouin shared team-high scoring honors for KSC with 13 points apiece. Senior Devin Ruocco led PSU with 13 points, while Wilkinson (Newmarket, N.H.) added 12 points and senior Mike Walcek chipped in with 11.