KEENE, N.H. – Freshman Octavio Brito and junior Jeff Hunter combined for 54 points on 22-of-32 shooting from the floor as the Keene State College men's basketball team overcame an 11-point first half deficit with ease in an eventual 85-71 victory over the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.  It was KSC's first regular season game since December 11.

Records

• Keene State:  9-2, 4-0 LEC
• UMass-Boston:  5-7, 1-3 LEC

How It Happened
The Owls struggled to contain the Beacons offense early, which entered the game shooting only 40 percent from the field this season (eighth in the conference), but turned it around in a hurry, erasing a 30-19 deficit over the final 12 minutes of the first half with a 28-8 surge that resulted in a nine-point halftime lead.  Hunter's improvised buzzer-beating three capped the burst, and KSC's offense was well on their way from there, as they shot 54 percent (15-for-28) in the second half and never trailed.  The Beacons got within one twice, the last of which at 51-50 with 14:49 left on Charles Mitchell's layup, but Brito answered with six points in a row in a little over two minutes and Max Bonney-Liles sank a triple to make it 60-50 at the 11:36 mark.  UMB's offense slowed after scoring 30 points in the opening eight-plus minutes, but still shot 44 percent for the game (30-for-69), their best showing since November 20 in a 72-51 win at Colby-Sawyer College.  However, KSC picked apart the Beacons' usually strong defense, finishing with a 50 percent (34-for-68) mark from the field, the highest UMass-Boston has allowed this season.  Mitchell and Stephen DiGregorio, who poured in 25 points on 9-of-20 from the field, scored inside following KSC turnovers to get the visitors within six (66-60) with 6:43 left, but the Owls continued to have their way offensively, responding immediately with a three-point play by James Anozie.  Brito took over from there, scoring the next eight KSC points including a jumper with 4:22 remaining that made it 75-64.  The Beacons never threatened again, with the Owls leading by as many as 15 in the closing minutes.  Brito and Hunter scored KSC's final 16 points of the game, which improved them to 5-0 at home, winning by an average of 29.6 points per game.

While the Owls were plus-25 in the final 31 minutes of the game, the opening minutes were all UMass-Boston and DeGregorio (12 points) as they ran out to a 30-19 lead that included a 15-3 surge in barely over two minutes.  The Beacons made 11 of their first 18 shots (KSC 7-18) en route to their game-high lead, but it was gone only 4:36 later as the Owls put up a 12-0 run and were on their way from there, shooting 55 percent over the remainder of the game while outscoring UMass-Boston 66-41.  Brito (22) and Hunter (20) combined for 44 points in that span.

After an impressive effort in KSC's December 13 exhibition game against Division I University of New Hampshire, Brito followed it up with a career-best 28-point effort (10-14 FG, 3-7 3-PT, 5-6 FT) with three rebounds and three assists.  He has eight double-figure scoring efforts in 11 games this season, though this was his first time eclipsing 20.  Hunter added a 26-point, 13-rebound double-double on 12-of-18 shooting.  Anozie (12 points) and Nate Siow (10 points, 10 assists) rounded out the double-figure scorers.

Charles Mitchell finished with 13 points (6-13 FG) for the Beacons and Charlie Mitchell added 10, but UMB fell to 2-6 since starting the season 3-1. 

Inside the Paint

• KSC had a 44-32 edge on the glass and outscored UMass-Boston 54-34 in the paint.
• The Owls are 44-9 all-time against the Beacons, 25-3 at Spaulding Gymnasium.
• The 35-day break did not slow Keene State's offense much, which is shooting 51 percent as a team on the season.  They have shot 50 percent or better seven times including today and have 77 assists over the last three games.
• KSC remains in first place in the league standings at 4-0, winning percentage points ahead of Eastern Connecticut State University (5-1).

Up Next

• Keene State has a quick turnaround and a three-game road week ahead, starting with trip to Western Connecticut State University (7-6, 1-4 LEC) on Monday (January 17) at 4:00 p.m.  Today was the first of 10 games in the next three weeks for the Owls.
• UMass-Boston visits the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (9-2, 2-1 LEC) on Monday at 2:00 p.m.