Keene, N.H. - November 13, 2018 - The Springfield College men's basketball team used a 19-7 run midway through the second half to gain the cushion it would need en route to an 89-81 non-conference victory at Keene State on Tuesday evening in Spaulding Gymnasium.
The Pride, which was ranked 7th in the latest D3hoops.com National Poll, improved to 2-0 on the season. The Owls, who were among those teams receiving votes in the poll, dropped to 1-1.
Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) led the way for the Pride with 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, to go along with eight boards and a pair of blocks. Cam Earle (South Hadley, Mass.) added 18 points, and Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) chipped in 14 points off the bench. Despite committing 24 turnovers, the Pride shot 54% from the floor (26-for-48), buried 11-of-20 from downtown, and connected on 26-of-34 from the charity stripe.
After Springfield turned the ball over six times to fall behind 10-3 just under five minutes into the game, the visitors regrouped to take a 20-18 advantage following an inside bucket by Jake Jacobson (Branford, Conn.) at the 9:27 mark. Springfield would stretch their lead to 36-30 when Post nailed a three-pointer with 2:13 remaining in the half, only to have the Owls close out the stanza on a 12-0 burst to take a six-point advantage into the break.
The hosts pushed their lead to 47-40 just over two minutes into the second half, but Springfield would lock down on defense and manufacture a 14-5 burst over the next five minutes, a run that was capped off by a three-point play from Witter, to regain a 54-52 edge. After the Owls tied the game up on the next possession, Daryl Costa (Providence, R.I.) drew a foul while shooting a three and made two from the line to give the Pride a lead it would not relinquish. Springfield's cushion would balloon to 71-64 with under five to play after two freebies from Witter, and despite the Owls getting within four points, Post got free for a critical three-pointer with 3:41 on the clock to push the lead back to seven. The Pride would make 8-of-11 from the charity stripe in the final minute to cap off the non-conference win and win by the eight-point margin.
Springfield will now gear up for a trip to the midwest as they travel to Chicago to compete in the Midway Classic, beginning with Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday evening at 5:00 pm EST.