Keene State Overcomes 12-Point Halftime Deficit Quickly, Will Play at Eastern Connecticut in Semifinals Thursday

KEENE, N.H. – Freshman Octavio Brito and sophomore Mason Jean Baptiste combined for 28 second half points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-for-8 from three) as the No. 3 seed Keene State College men's basketball team washed away a sluggish first half with a comprehensive showing in the second, overtaking sixth-seeded Rhode Island College 73-70 in a Little East Conference tournament quarterfinal game Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.  The win powers the Owls to the league semifinals for the seventh time in the past eight seasons and ninth in the last 11.

Records

• Keene State:  18-6
• Rhode Island College:  14-12

Postgame Interview with Coach Cain (click here)
Postgame Player Interview with Octavio Brito (click here)

How It Happened
KSC had to overcome a lot on the evening, not the least of which was a first half that saw them lead for just 21 seconds and Rhode Island College shoot 53 percent (19-for-36) from the field while running out to a game-high 12 point advantage at the break.  That deficit marked Keene State's largest halftime deficit of the season and just the fourth time overall they have trailed after 20 minutes this season.  The Owls had put up 99 and 108 points in 20 and 25 point victories over the Anchormen in the regular season while compiling 67 assists as a team, but tonight proved to be vastly different as they were in a substantial hole at the break thanks to 32 percent shooting and an 0-of-12 mark from three-point range.

The script flipped rapidly in the second half, as the 40-28 lead RIC had was wiped away in less than five minutes by the return of the familiar potent Keene State offense.  James Anozie's putback of a miss while being fouled at the 19:35 mark might have seemed harmless initially, but instead was the beginning of a 16-4 surge for the Owls that took only 4:08, as they made five of nine shots from the field and four of seven from three point range.  Jeric Cichon made it 40-34 less than a minute out of the locker room, and consecutive treys by Jean Baptiste in a 43-second span made it 43-40, the closest KSC had been since it was 26-23 with 4:41 to go in the first half.  The Owls kept coming, tying the game at 44 on a Brito triple with 15:27 left before going in front on four consecutive points by Justin Williams less than a minute later.  Forced into duty, the senior big man chipped in an important 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting (2-2 FT) to go along with five rebounds off the bench.  Rhode Island College briefly retook a 49-48 lead on a three-point play from Keyshaun Jacobs on the next trip down the court, but Jean Baptiste hit back with his third triple of the half to put Keene State back in front and they never relinquished the lead again.  Jordan Santos nailed a big triple to put the Owls up five with 12:15 left, and despite a scoring brought that approached three minutes, Brito made it 58-51 at the 8:53 mark to give the Owls some space.  Overall, KSC outscored the Anchormen 30-11 over the opening 11:07 of the half to change the complexion of the game entirely, making 10-of-20 shots from the floor and 6-of-10 from deep in that span while committing just one turnover.  Rhode Island College's offense, paced by two conference-best scorers (Shion Darby and Jacobs) that put in about 45 points per game on average, was held to a dreadful 2-of-18 effort from the floor during the Owl uprising.

Despite the momentum being more or less all on Keene State's side, the Anchormen hung around, getting back within one possession (61-58) at the 6:10 mark on Damian Tucker's layup, but a major two-possession sequence proved to be key.  First, Brito drilled a deep triple to put the Owls up six, and after Siow hounded Darby defensively on the other side, Williams came up with a steal that resulted in a transition layup from Brito off a nice pass from Siow as KSC went up 66-58 with 5:24 to go.

Rhode Island College mounted one final rally, in part due to the Owls turning the ball over three times and missing a pair of free throws over the next four minutes, as consecutive layups by Darby and Jordan Riley brought the visitors within 68-66 with 1:56 left.  KSC's misses from the line followed, giving the Anchormen a chance to tie the game, but Riley misfired and Brito grabbed the board with a minute to go.  The 6-4 guard came up with an even bigger rebound on the offensive side, as he corralled Jean Baptiste's miss at the end of the shot clock after a completely broken possession resulted in him having to retrieve the ball in the backcourt.  After the board, Brito got the ball back to Jean Baptiste, who made both free throws after being fouled with 25 seconds left to make it 70-66.  Darby tried a step-back three on the other side that did not fall – as he cooled off to a 5-for-19 showing in the second half after a 9-for-18 shooting performance in the first – and the Owls were in good shape from there.  After Cichon made one of two at the line, Darby made it a one-possession game again within eight seconds left, but Jean Baptiste canned two free throws to make it 73-68.  RIC's final points came with eight tenths of a second left, after which Cichon fired a pass down court to Brito to run out the clock and KSC's fourth win in the past five games.  Five of the past six contests for the Owls have been decided by six points or less.

Brito finished with 21 points (9-22 FG, 5-9 FG and 2-4 3-PT in second half), 11 rebounds, and four assists.  Jean Baptiste added 19 points (3-9 3-PT, 4-4 FT), three assists, and two rebounds.  The sophomore from Lynn, Mass. made four of six from the floor (3-4 3-PT, 4-4 FT) in a 15-point second half that saw Keene State shoot 50 percent (14-28) from the floor and 7-of-11 (64 percent) from three-point range.  Anozie finished with a 11-point, 13-rebound double-double.

Darby led RIC with 31 points, but required 37 shots from the field to reach that total.  Jacobs scored 15, shooting 6-for-13, and grabbed four rebounds.  Damian Tucker scored 12 (5-5 FG), but the Anchormen shot 10-for-33 after halftime.  Rhode Island College, who had dropped six of eight entering the night but did win their season finale by 14 over Plymouth State University, got off to exactly the start they were looking for, leading 14-8 less than seven minutes in.  KSC's only lead of the first half came at 19-18, after which the visitors hit back with a 16-4 push that took less than four minutes to regain control.  It lasted through halftime, but was gone in the blink of an eye afterward.

Inside the Paint

• Tonight was, somewhat remarkably, the first time the two teams have met in the playoffs at Spaulding Gymnasium in eight such matchups.  KSC has won the last three playoff encounters dating back to the 2015 championship game and is 15-2 overall against RIC in the last 17.
• After not having a double-digit rebound game all season, Brito now has two consecutive such performances (totaling 26, seven offensive).
• Keene State had a 51-35 edge overall on the glass (18-8 on the offensive end), and also held the Anchormen to an 0-for-6 mark from three on the night.

Up Next

• It will be a familiar opponent for the Owls in the semifinals, as they will travel to No. 2 seed Eastern Connecticut State University on Thursday (February 24) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.  The Warriors (18-7, 12-4 LEC) won their seventh straight after evading the University of Massachusetts-Boston 76-73 tonight at home, where they are 13-1.  It will be the fifth time in the past six seasons KSC and ECSU have tangled in the playoffs.
• Rhode Island College's season is over.  A year they began 5-0 and 10-2 will end with a 14-12 mark, 6-8 away from The Murray Center.