KEENE, N.H. - The Keene State College men's basketball team started fast and never looked back, blowing past UMass Boston 85-45 in both teams' Little East Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gym.

Records

• Keene State: 5-2, 1-0 LEC
• UMass Boston: 3-3, 0-1 LEC

How It Happened

Keene State put two in double-figures, but got an overall balanced offensive attack with 13 different people scoring. Ty Nichols scored an efficient 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field (4-of-5 from three), while adding four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Dizel Wright had 13 points, eight rebounds, three steals and an assist. Jake Dunkley had nine points, five rebounds and an assist for the Owls, who have won three straight games overall.

Kevin Louis-Jean was the lone Beacon in double-figures with 10 points. Iser Barnes came off the bench to add eight points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist for UMass Boston, who was held to their lowest point total of the season. Leading scorers Charles Mitchell and Michael Boyd combined for just five points apiece.

The Owls came flying out of the gates in the early going, building a 13-1 lead almost solely on the back of Wright, who scored eleven consecutive points of his own during the surge. The Beacons finally got a three from Charles Mitchell, their first field goal of the game with 13:49 to go in the first, but KSC kept churning, going up 23-6 after DeVon Beasley made a three and Miguel Prieto drained a jumper. A triple from Nichols extended the lead to 26-9 halfway through the half, and he was at it again later, making another trey and a layup in consecutive possessions for a 33-13 lead at the 6:42 mark. Keene State did not relent for the remainder of the half, leading by as many as 22 before taking a 42-22 advantage to the locker room.

The second half was more of the same, as the Owls continued to extend the lead. KSC outscored UMB 16-7 over the first six minutes to take a 58-29 advantage, capped by a three from Prieto and a bucket inside from Jordan Haywood. A tip-in from Jake Dunkley with 6:41 to go put Keene State up 71-36. The Owls' largest lead of the game was actually the final score, and it came courtesy of a triple from Brandon Hurst, his first collegiate points, with 1:18 to go.

Inside the Paint

• Keene State was efficient offensively for the second game in a row, especially in the first half, where the Owls made 15-of-30 (50%) shots from the field and 6-of-14 (43%) from deep. They settled on 48% (31-of-64) shooting for the game and made 10-of-27 (37%) from deep. UMass Boston shot just 31% (17-of-55) for the game and made 5-of-20 (25%) from deep, both their lowest marks so far this season.
• The Owls dominated nearly all statistical categories in the game, including outrebounding the Beacons 46-32 and outscoring them off turnovers 33-11. KSC never trailed in the contest.
• Every KSC player available saw action in the game.
• Keene State has won their last four games against the Beacons and is 39-13 overall against them in the all-time series.

Up Next

• Keene State will stay home and host Albertus Magnus on Tuesday, December 5 at 7:00 pm.
• UMass Boston will entertain Pine Manor on the same day at 7:30 pm.