Already Locked into No. 3 Seed, KSC Gets 12th League Win and Improves to 17-6 to Conclude Regular Season

BOSTON, Mass. – Mason Jean Baptiste scored 24 points, 14 in the second half, and Octavio Brito added 18 points, eight of which came in overtime including the game-winning layup with 1.9 seconds left, as the Keene State College men's basketball team closed a 17-6 regular season with a 99-97 win over the University of Massachusetts-Boston in Little East Conference action Saturday at the Clark Athletic Center.

Records

• Keene State:  17-6, 12-4 LEC
• UMass-Boston:  11-13, 7-9 LEC

Final LEC Regular Season Standings (click here)
Final LEC Team vs. Team Results (click here)

How It Happened
Despite the score, the Owls actually got off to a slow start offensively – though they still led by four at halftime – and then proceeded to torch the nets over the final 25 minutes of what turned into a wild contest, making 22 of their final 36 shots (61 percent) overall and six of their final 11 from three point range (55 percent) to escape a tenacious Beacons team that entered the day with their postseason seeding in flux.  While KSC was locked into the No. 3 seed but nonetheless trying to pile up as many wins as possible, UMB could have finished as high as fifth but will now have to settle for the No. 7 seed in this week's conference tournament after falling to the Owls for the 11th time in the past 12 meetings, three in overtime.  The contest saw a whopping 12 ties and 19 lead changes, including 15 lead changes in the final 25 minutes, none being more important than the last one when Jean Baptiste found Brito wide open down low for a layup and a 99-97 lead with 1.9 seconds left.  Charles Mitchell's heave from well beyond half court was off the mark, but he otherwise did everything for UMass-Boston, scoring a game-high 28 points (11-25 FG, 4-4 FT) to go along with five rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.  That the Beacons even had a chance to win the game at the end was remarkable in and of itself, as after allowing the opening basket, Keene State took complete control of the overtime, scoring on three consecutive possessions on layups by Brito, LJ Hicks, and Jamel Shaheed for a 91-84 lead with 1:40 left.  Hicks then went 3-for-4 at the foul line to keep Owl lead at seven (96-89) with 40 seconds remaining, but KSC then had to hang on after that.  Charlie Mitchell went right down the court for a layup – and was fouled in the process, after which the Owls could not secure the rebound on the free throw, leading to his jumper that made it 96-93.  A KSC turnover followed, their only one of the extra session, leading to an Emanuel Zayas basket that had UMass-Boston within one with 18 seconds left, and after Jean Baptiste went one of two at the line, Charles Mitchell's no-look pass found Shawn Goss wide open for a layup to tie the game with 9.4 to go.  Brito and the Owls had the last laugh, though, as the freshman guard burned the Beacons one final time in a season series where he scored a combined 46 points on 17-of-32 (53 points) in two meetings.  Hicks and Shaheed, both pressed into duty in a contest where three people from each side fouled out and where KSC was forced to play different lineup combinations anyway, combined to score 11 points in overtime.  The Owls made 7-of-8 shots in the extra session and 6-of-9 at the foul line (67 percent), though the Beacons converted on 8-of-13 from the field themselves as the teams combined to put up 38 overtime points after a 94-point second half.

Keene State took their biggest lead of the contest (seven) less than a minute out of the halftime break, but the wildness then began as they trailed by seven not even three minutes later, only to lead by seven again with 10:50 to go following Hicks' trey that punctuated a 10-0 burst that took 2:03.  The Beacons answered with seven in a row to make it a new game (59-59) with 7:17 left and the teams were never separated by more than four points after that in regulation.  KSC went from down one to ahead 77-73 in 45 seconds, taking that two-possession edge on Nate Siow's layup with 1:37 left, but they went just 2-for-5 at the line after that and turned the ball over once as the Beacons rallied to force overtime.  UMB actually went back in front by one after going 4-for-4 at the foul line in the final 1:06, but Siow's one from the charity stripe ended up being enough to tie and force overtime at 79-79 after the teams each missed possible game-winners.  Brito began his takeover by swatting away Charles Mitchell's shot, giving KSC another chance in the final seconds of regulation that turned into a great look for Jean Baptiste, but his baseline floater was off the mark, a rare occasion on a day where he scored a team-best 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting (4-7 3-PT).  He also added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

For a game that turned into such a high-scoring, back-and-forth affair, the first half offered little indication that would be the case, as the Owls actually trailed for 15:54 of game action while shooting a chilly 29 percent.  UMB shot just 34 percent themselves overall in the opening 20 minutes, but forced 10 turnovers.  Jean Baptiste and Siow salvaged the half for KSC, who scratched out a four-point lead at the break thanks to a 15-6 run over the final 7:33.  There were just five lead changes in the opening half, a far cry from the 14 that followed after that, but the last of the day helped the Owls up their road record to 8-4.

Siow finished with a triple-double, recording 17 points (4-9 FG, 3-4 3-PT, 6-9 FT), 14 rebounds, and 11 assists.  Brito's final line included 18 points (7-18 FG, 4-6 FT) and 15 boards (five offensive).  Jordan Santos finished with 11 points before fouling out, while Hicks scored 10 points (3-6 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 3-5 FT) in 15 important minutes off the bench where he had a plus-nine rating.  Ryan Donahue (nine points, 4-6 FG, 1-1 3-PT) was plus-eight and KSC as a team had five double-figure scorers for the eighth time this season.

Malik Lorquet poured in 22 points (8-14 FG, 6-10 FT) for UMB and added five rebounds and five blocks before he also fouled out.   Charlie Mitchell had 17, but the Beacons lost their third consecutive February home game.

Inside the Paint

• The Owls shot 11-for-24 from three-point range (46 percent) in the game and are shooting a 39 percent clip from deep over the past three contests.  They are 11-1 when making double-digit triples this season.
• Jean Baptiste has 47 points on 16-of-28 shooting, 9-of-16 from three-point range, and seven rebounds in two games this week.
• KSC is 67-30 in Little East Conference games under head coach Ryan Cain, who is in his seventh season.

Up Next

• The Owls were guaranteed the No. 3 seed coming into the day, but now know their opponent on Tuesday night in the Little East Conference tournament quarterfinals will be Rhode Island College (14-11, 7-9 LEC).  Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.  The Anchormen beat Plymouth State University 98-84 today at home to finish sixth.  KSC won both regular season meetings with RIC, 99-79 in Providence in December and 108-83 in Keene in January.
• The three-way 7-9 tie did not work in favor of UMass-Boston, who tumbled to the No. 7 seed and will visit second-seed Eastern Connecticut State University (17-7, 12-4 LEC) on Tuesday (7:30 p.m.).  The teams split the season series, both winning at home.  ECSU won in Connecticut 76-70 in December before the Beacons won 62-54 in Boston in January.  The Warriors have not lost to a league opponent at Geissler Gymnasium this season.