KEENE, N.H. - Jeff Hunter, Jeric Cichon, and James Anozie all recorded double-doubles, combining to account for 49 points and 37 rebounds, as the Keene State College men's basketball team built a big lead before turning away Eastern Connecticut State University 85-75 on Wednesday night in Little East Conference action at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  3-0, 3-0 LEC
• Eastern Connecticut:  0-2, 0-2 LEC

How It Happened
Keene State trailed by four (19-15) nearly six minutes into the game as Warrior guard Tyreice Woods had his way with the Owl defense early, but the home team roared to life from there, embarking on a 16-0 run while holding Eastern scoreless for well over seven minutes to build a 31-19 lead with 6:38 left in the opening half.  That surge proved to be enough in the end, as Keene State's advantage remained in double-figures for most of the rest of the way, but the second half was not without some question.  The Owls turned ice cold from long range and watched the Warriors chip the lead into single-digits four times, the last of which coming on Cory Muckle's jumper with 3:37 remaining that made it 79-72.  However, KSC answered by going to the basket, as layups from Anozie and Cichon pushed the lead back to 11 with a little over two minutes left, snuffing out whatever hope Eastern Connecticut had.  Warrior standout Muckle did not score and was limited just three shots in the opening 20 minutes, but wound up finishing with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting and 13 rebounds.

The game was a track meet early, as Cichon's coast-to-coast drive not even three minutes in had the Owls ahead 11-6, but mostly thanks to Woods, the Warriors edged out in front for the first time following a 13-4 surge over the next three minutes.  Keene State utilized Anozie to get going again, as he scored six consecutive points to put his team in front 22-19, and that was just the beginning of the aforementioned Owl blitz, as consecutive triples by DeVon Beasley and Hunter – who was 3-for-3 from long range on the evening – in the ensuing minutes ballooned the lead to 12.  KSC remained in command over the remainder of the half, as a deep shot by Tyler Dill at the 5:27 mark made it 38-23 and four points from Mason Jean Baptiste in the final 35 seconds had the Owls up 48-31 at the break.

The opening minutes of the second half were more of the same, as Nate Siow's steal and bucket 10 seconds in was the beginning of a 9-0 run – with every point scored by a freshman – that took less than two minutes, putting KSC ahead by a game-high 26 points (57-31) with 18:11 left.  It was not simple from there, as the Owls could not find the range and ECSU slowly but surely whittled away at the mountain of a deficit, making it 59-44 at the 16:12 mark after a bucket and free throw by Jalen Williams.  KSC still led 64-48 about four minutes later after Hunter scored inside, but the Warriors dug even a little bit more out of their hole with a 10-2 run to get within eight (66-58) with still over nine minutes to go.  The visitors had one final gasp, answering another Hunter triple that made it 77-64 with six consecutive points of their own to make it a seven-point game with 4:17 on the clock, but never got any closer than that.

Hunter has had a stellar start to his 2020-2021 campaign, scoring 56 points on 69 percent shooting in the first three games following a 23-point effort on 10-of-12 shooting this evening.  He has also made 4-of-6 threes and grabbed 41 rebounds on the season (15 boards tonight).  Cichon (14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Anozie (12 points, 12 rebounds) also recorded double-doubles.  Jean Baptiste chipped in 14 points.  Woods finished with 19 points on 8-of-17 from the floor (3-of-3 from three) and five rebounds for the Warriors, who were playing for the first time in 11 days.

Inside the Paint

• The Owls shot 42 percent (33-for-79) from the floor on the evening, cooling off following a 49 percent showing in the opening half.  They made just 9-of-39 (23%) from long range but did have 18 assists.  The Warriors were held to 34 percent (27-for-79) shooting and were outrebounded 54-42.
• Keene State has won four of the last five meetings overall against the Warriors and five of the past seven at home, including the 2019 LEC championship game, after losing the previous six to ECSU at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Up Next

• KSC has a true home-and-home weekend set against UMass-Dartmouth (4-0, 4-0 LEC).  The Owls will first visit North Dartmouth to take on the Corsairs on Saturday (February 13) at 12:30 p.m.  You can view the game on littleeast.tv.
• The Warriors also play both days this weekend.  They open their home schedule against non-conference opponent Northern Vermont University-Johnson (0-0) Saturday at 3:00 p.m.

Postgame Interview with Coach Cain