Month After Beating UMass-Boston By 48 Points, Owls Win On Road by 51

KEENE, N.H. – Jeff Hunter became the new Keene State College men's basketball all-time leader in rebounds while he and fellow All-American Octavio Brito combined for 43 points and 31 rebounds to pace four in double-figures as the No. 7 Owls flattened the University of Massachusetts-Boston 96-45 in Little East Conference action Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.

Records

• No. 7 Keene State: 19-2, 12-0 LEC
• UMass-Boston: 6-16, 5-8 LEC

How It Happened
KSC had one of their colder shooting halves to start the game, connecting on just 13-of-38 (34 percent) from the floor…and yet they still led by 20 points at halftime thanks to a remarkable 36-14 rebounding advantage in the opening half while they held the Beacons to a dreadful 5-for-35 (14 percent) showing from the floor.  The Owls then shot a number fans have become more accustomed to – 50 percent – in the second half, and because of it the lead – already large – expanded significantly.  Keene State's 36-16 halftime edge grew to 48-20 in just 3:26, capped by consecutive steals, one from Brito that helped lead to a Nate Siow layup and the other that turned into a three-pointer from Mason Jean Baptiste, who recently reached the 1,000-career point milestone.  It was 52-22 at the 15:14 mark after pair of free throws by Brito, and 61-24 a little over three minutes later after Alonzo Linton buried a triple.  All told, KSC shot 9-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-4 from deep over a 6:58 stretch to open the second half while outscoring the Beacons 25-8.  UMass-Boston was 4-for-15 with four turnovers in the same span, and had no answers in either meeting against the Owls, getting outscored by 99 points.  They trailed by 30 or more points for the final 15:14.  A dunk by Brito at the 8:24 mark made it 74-33, and four free throws from Tahmeen Dupree kept piling on.  Keene State led by as many as 52 (93-41) when Isaac Ogutuga drained a corner three with 1:40 to go.

After seeing a third active member of the team reach 1,000 points (Jean Baptiste) on Wednesday in a 93-59 win over Vermont State University Castleton, it was a different milestone on the mind on this day, as Hunter needed just seven rebounds to become the Owls' new program leader in that category.  A double-double machine, he had three boards before the opening two minutes of the game were gone and grabbed his seventh from a Connor Walden miss with 9:32 left in the opening half.  It led to a jumper by Wesley Odiase, which already put the Owls ahead 23-6 as they were well in control throughout.  Hunter passed Dave Terry into first on the all-time rebounds list.  The now former leader grabbed 1,252 boards from 1969-1971.  Hunter entered the season with 991, 85 behind second place Al Hicks, but now stands alone…and likely will again, as he needs just three blocks to lead that category.

Keene State led 9-0 in less than three minutes and scored the game's first 13 points overall in 5:05, capped by a Brito jumper.  He drained a three a minute later to make it 17-2, and it was 21-4 at the 11:46 mark following a Linton basket.  The Beacons briefly got within 12 on Emanuel Zayas' jumper with 7:14 left in the half, but the Owls scored the next six to make it 32-14 and carried a 20-point lead into the locker room.  After falling behind 11-0 at the 16:28 mark of the first half following two Brito free throws, UMB was never within single digits again.

"The team contributed as a whole, led by Jeff Hunter breaking the rebounding record," said Keene State coach David Hastings.  "We did not shoot the ball especially well but rebounded extremely well.  It's a tough gym to shoot in for us, as it always has been in my eight years.  We look forward to getting ready for Eastern Connecticut this week.  I am very happy that we seem to be playing at a high level as we move into the latter part of our season."

Brito finished with a game-high 24 points (8-17 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 6-6 FT) and 16 rebounds to pace KSC while Hunter had 19 points (6-9 FG, 7-8 FT) and the 15 boards to go along with three assists.  Wesley Odiase's key contributions continue, this time finishing with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double on 5-for-11 shooting, 5-of-7 at the line.  Linton added 11 points (4-10 FG, 2-4 3-PT) and eight boards.

Walden was UMass-Boston's high scorer with 13 points and 10 rebounds, but was held to 4-for-15 from the floor and was the only Beacon in double-figures.

Inside the Paint

• KSC has won 10 games by at least 25 points this season and is 10-0 on the road.
• Odiase's double-double was the first of his career.  He has seven double-digit scoring games in the last 11.  His 10 rebounds today were a new best.  From the start of the new year, he has raised his scoring average from 4.9 to 7.7 points per game.
• The Owls lead the all-time series 49-9 and have won six straight, four by double-digits.  KSC throttled the Beacons 117-69 in Keene in early January.
• Keene State continues to lead the conference standings by a game and a half over second-place Western Connecticut State University.  The Owls have a road win over the Wolves already, and will have a chance to end the race when they host them next Saturday.
• The first set of (alphabetical, non-numerically ordered) regional rankings come out this coming Tuesday (February 6).

Up Next

• Keene State visits Eastern Connecticut State University (4-17, 1-11 LEC) on Wednesday, February 7 for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.  The Warriors have been eliminated from Little East tournament contention.
• UMass-Boston hosts the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (12-9, 9-3 LEC) on the same night (7:00 p.m.).