Brito, Hunter Double-Doubles Lead Five in Double-Figures For Third Straight Game as KSC Improves to 6-0

KEENE, N.H. – Jeff Hunter made 13-of-14 shots from the floor and scored 27 points to go along with 10 rebounds, three blocks, and two steals as the Keene State College men's basketball team used a high-powered and deep offense to take a commanding lead while rolling past the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 102-90 in non-conference action on a post-Thanksgiving Saturday at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  6-0
• MIT:  2-4

Postgame Interview (Coach Cain)

How It Happened
Playing at home for the first time in 15 days, the Owls did not slow down – especially on offense – as they put five players in double-figures for the third consecutive game and as a team poured in over 100 for the second straight outing.  Beyond Hunter, Octavio Brito had a double-double of his own with 23 points (9-19 FG), 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks, and two steals.  Mason Jean Baptiste added 13 points while Spencer Aronson and Ryan Donahue each scored 11, combining to go 6-of-10 from three off the bench.  In fact, the duo went 4-of-5 from distance in the opening half and were a key factor in the Owls turning what was at one point a 25-22 deficit into a 53-37 halftime edge by outscoring the Engineers 31-12 over the final 9:48 of the half.  A layup by Kade Killeen had MIT ahead by that three-point margin at the 11:01 mark, but a hoop followed by a steal and dunk from Brito put the Owls in front 26-25, their first lead since it was 5-4, with 9:29 left in the half.  A personal 8-0 run by Brito ended with a pair of free throws a little over a minute later, and from there KSC put their foot on the gas pedal to gain separation.  A big lift came from Donahue, who canned a triple and then capitalized off an Engineers turnover within 10 seconds of each other to put the Owls in front by that margin (37-27) at the 5:34 mark.  Ahead 45-35 in the final two minutes, Keene State finished with a flurry, as a triple from Brito put them up 13, and after a Kade Killeen basket had MIT within 48-37 in the final minute, a Hunter layup and Jean Baptiste buzzer-beating step-back three put the Owls up 16 and with momentum headed into the locker room.  KSC shot 52 percent in the opening half and made 6-of-16 from three while forcing the Engineers into 12 first half turnovers while committing four themselves (they had just nine in the game).

After 90 combined points between the teams in the opening half, the second half produced even more offense, with both teams shooting 60 percent or better and teaming up for 102 total.  However, Keene State's lead dropped below double-figures only once as they were able to keep MIT at an arm's length the whole time.  The Owls opened the half with the first four to quickly push their lead to 20, and as soon as the visitors drew within 57-43, scored six in a row for a 20-point lead again on a layup from Nate Siow with 16:38 left.  A layup and dunk on consecutive offensive possessions from Hunter pumped the KSC advantage up to 21 (67-46) at the 14:35 mark, and it was still 70-51 partially thanks to a slicing layup from Aronson less than two minutes later.  A Donahue triple still had the Owls up 73-53 with 11 minutes to go and a steal  and layup 30 seconds later from Mike Carothers made it a game-high 22 point gap.  KSC ultimately was well on their way – but it was not without a push from the Engineers, who reeled off eight consecutive points in less than two minutes to turn what was a 79-60 game following a Hunter dunk to an 11-point game with still 6:48 left.  Landon Dolvin canned a triple to make his team's deficit 10 (81-71) less than 30 seconds later, but a putback layup from Hunter and big trey from Jeric Cichon provided a key answer, putting KSC up 15 again.  Six more points in a row for MIT after brought them as close as they had been in a long time at 86-77 on Spencer Lin's mid-range jumper with 4:28 remaining, but the Owls got a Jean Baptiste jumper on their trip down the court and continued to find plenty of answers offensively.  Buckets from Brito and Jean Baptiste with less than three minutes to go made it 93-79, and two layups by Hunter after that had his team up 97-84 with 1:23 left.  Aronson buried a triple with just under a minute remaining to put the Owls at 100, up 14, and all but polished off their first 6-0 start since the 2015-2016 season.

MIT finished with four in double-figures, including a 38-point effort from freshman Rome Delgado-Gonzalez, who made 13-of-21 from the floor, 3-of-5 from three, and all nine free throws.  As a team, the Engineers were 15-for-15 at the foul line.  Killeen added 16 points (8-12 FG) and Tim Minicozzi 11 (4-8 FG, 3-4 3-PT).  MIT was undone by 20 turnovers (which KSC cashed into a 25-14 points edge) and being outscored 66-40 in the paint.  Coming off a tough loss at Tufts University in their last outing in which they allowed the Jumbos to shoot 60 percent, the Engineers had an early five-point edge after a 14-6 push, but that lead was gone in 43 seconds and KSC steadily took control over the rest of the half from there.

Inside the Paint

• The last time the Owls won more than their first six games came in the 2014-2015 campaign when they started 8-0.  That KSC team won their first eight by an average of 15.8 points per game.  This year's average differential thus far stands at plus-22 per game.
• KSC has had five double-figure scorers in 12 of their last 32 games dating back to last year and at least four with 10 or more points in 11 additional contests since the beginning of last season.
• Hunter is shooting 75 percent (57-for-76) on the season from the floor and Aronson 44 percent (17-for-39) from three-point range.
• Keene State has won back-to-back games over MIT for the first time in the brief five-game series that they lead 3-2.  Each team had won a pair of road games on the other team's home court before today's result.

Up Next

• The Owls stay home to host Albertus Magnus College (0-3) on Tuesday, November 29.  Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m.
• MIT welcomes Salem State University (1-5) to Cambridge for a 7:00 p.m. start on the same night.