Perfection denied

Appalachian State beat Michigan, then Stanford defeated University of Southern California, and finally the New York Giants took down the New England Patriots.

Wins like these must have given the Keene State College men's basketball team some confidence when they took on undefeated UMass-Dartmouth.

Behind a raucous crowd, the Owls upset the second-ranked team in Division III College basketball, 92-85 in the Spaulding Gymnasium Feb. 9, 2008.

"They're tough to beat. That given day we were the better team," said senior captain Kevin Ritter.

The Corsairs were 20-0, with a 9-0 record in the LEC. They had won their last 3 games by an average of 20 points in victories over Tufts, Southern Maine and UMass-Boston. The Corsairs feature a balanced offense with four players who average double digits in points, and a point guard who averages 7.7 assists per game.

"We tried to turn [their point guard] into a scorer and turn their other players into passers. We wanted to take everyone out of their comfort zone which I think we did pretty well," said Ritter.

The strategy worked to perfection, as UMD point guard Reece Freeman scored 18 points while only notching three assists. Leading scorer Dan Holbrook was held to only 12 points in 41 minutes of action.

"We just went about our regular business. I told the kids before, this isn't gonna take a miracle, It's just gonna take Keene State," said head coach Rob Colbert.

But UMD was undefeated. Colbert downplayed the magnitude of such a big victory. Part of his mindset comes from the way KSC played against UMD in its 100-97 overtime loss when the Owls traveled to Dartmouth on Jan. 12.

"We felt that despite the records, we are just as talented as they are," said Colbert.

KSC Athletic Director John Ratliff felt this win was far more monumental than Colbert perceived it to be. In his 13 years as athletic director at KSC, this is the second biggest upset he has seen.

"We beat Rochester in the third round of the NCAA tournament three years ago, and they were ranked number two in the country when we played them, so those two are pretty equal," said Ratliff. "The only difference being that one was in the NCAA tournament which probably puts it a little ahead of this one."

Something that may make this victory more impressive is that the 2003-2004 Owls were 25-6, including a 9-1 record in conference play. The 2007-2008 team is 13-8 at this point in the season with a 6-4 record in the Little East Conference. Ritter thinks this is the second biggest victory of his career as well.

"I'd have to rank it second behind last years' second round victory over Salem State. That was also a very good team, and the fact that it was in the NCAA tournament made the stakes that much higher," said Ritter.

There is more to the Owls' record this year than meets the eye. The team started the season without All-LEC forward Nate Anderson. KSC experienced a rash of midseason injuries that contributed to its average start to the season.

Ritter had a cist in his knee. Tyler Kathan and Anthony Licitra battled bruised legs. Travon Little overcame a sprained big toe and Nick Drouin has been fighting soreness in his knees.

Now the Owls are healthy and playing better than they have all season.

"We're a very talented team as well. It's just a matter of putting it all together and playing hard every night," said Ritter.