Brito Sets Another Career-High, Hunter Reaches 1,000 Points as KSC Matches D-III Era Best Start at 8-0 Done Two Other Times

GORHAM, Maine – Keene State College men's basketball co-captains Octavio Brito and Jeff Hunter combined to score 59 points on 23-for-37 shooting from the floor – each notching career milestones – as the nationally 14th-ranked Owls sprinted to an 83-70 victory over the University of Southern Maine in the Little East Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.

Records

• No. 14 Keene State:  8-0, 1-0 LEC
• Southern Maine:  6-2, 0-1 LEC

Hunter 1,000th Point (clip)
Brito's Career-High (clip)

How It Happened
It was another whopping day for KSC's leading duo, with Hunter – a senior – becoming the 38th member of the Owls' 1,000-point club late in the first half and Brito, a sophomore, finishing with 37 points on 12-of-19 shooting, setting a new career-best mark for the third time in the season's opening eight games.  The Lincoln, R.I. product initially poured in 32 points against Rutgers University-Newark on November 11, and then matched that total against Albertus Magnus College this past Tuesday before surpassing it by five today.  He has at least 22 points in six of eight games – and in the two he didn't, KSC posted 84-62 and 113-75 wins.  His three-point percentage on the season?  Currently at 50 percent (32-of-64).  He has made 13-of-22 in the last two games.

"Octavio is a leader and captain of our team, and one of his most important characteristics is his consistent effort and focus," said Keene State head coach Ryan Cain.  "He plays as hard as anyone possession by possession, and that consistency of effort puts him in a position to optimize his talent on both ends of the floor.  He works really hard, and has the ability to score at all three levels.  If you consistently play at a high level with the talent he has, you will continue to get better.  In addition, the biggest jump players make is typically from their freshman to sophomore year for a number of reasons, specifically for guys who work as hard as 'O' does."

As far as today, Brito gave the Owls a 9-5 early lead with a steal and flush a little over three minutes in, and a dunk for Hunter a minute later had KSC in front 11-7.  Southern Maine's Mark Asare scored six consecutive points including a four-point play as USM ran off seven in a row for a three-point lead of their own at the 13:59 mark, but that advantage turned into a nine-point (23-14) deficit in only 2:28 as KSC scored 12 consecutive points.  The Owls never trailed again, and actually kept piling on in the first half, taking a double-digit lead at 28-16 on a three by Brito with 9:48 left.  He hit another three 28 seconds later and added a steal and layup a minute later for a 33-18 lead.  Keene State led by as many as 20 in the opening half.  After USM had drawn within 34-22 at the 6:47 mark, Hunter answered with a bucket to kick off an 8-0 burst that included his milestone basket, a post layup after he backed down Joe Longoria with 4:38 left.

"So happy for Jeff that he was able to score his 1,000th point.  He has develop into a dynamic post scorer and accomplishing this feat early in his third full year in our program is an impressive achievement," said Cain.  "We appreciate everything he does for our program."

Max Bonney-Liles followed Hunter with a layup on KSC's next trip to make it 44-24, and the Owls controlled the vast majority of the opening half, taking a 46-34 lead into the locker room after Hunter's layup in the final seconds.

Jason Lombard started Southern Maine's scoring in the second half 1:08 in to bring his team within 10, but that was ultimately as close as they came, with KSC's lead remaining in double-figures the entire half.  The Owls embarked on a 17-6 surge over the next six minutes to blow the game open and double their advantage to 63-43, with Brito connecting from distance three times in that span and Jeric Cichon adding another.  Overall, Brito hit five threes in the opening 7:32 of the second half, including another that made it 66-44 with 12:28 left.  KSC's lead was never in jeopardy.  Two free throws from Cichon with 10:15 to go had his team up 70-49, and a jumper by Brito at the 8:51 mark made it 72-51.  Southern Maine briefly made it a 14-point game a minute and a half later, but once they did, KSC quickly hit back with 11 of the next 14 points including a three-point play from Brito for a 79-59 edge at the 5:04 mark and a layup from Hunter and jumper from Jean Baptiste with about three minutes left that made it 83-61.  USM scored the final nine points to set the final margin, but has lost three straight to KSC by a combined 77 points.

"Overall we did a solid job maintaining the lead.  It is hard to win on the road against a quality opponent, and we had some guys step up and make shots along with taking better care of the ball," said Cain.  "We did a decent job through the [second] half of eliminating easy baskets, forcing them to score against a contest."

Hunter's sixth consecutive double-double consisted of 22 points on 11-of-18 shooting, 15 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.  Cichon had seven points (2-4 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT).

Southern Maine was paced by 13 points apiece from Tommy Whelan (5-11 FG, 3-4 FT) and Mark Asare (4-9 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 4-5 FT).  The Huskies actually had four double-figure scorers, but were held to 4-for-16 shooting from three and allowed KSC to shoot 50 percent from the field overall.

Inside the Paint

• The Owls are 8-0 for the third time in the Division III era, matching their best start to a season.  They also won their first eight in 2014-2015 (finishing 20-9, 8-6 in LEC before losing in NCAA first round) and in 2002-2003 (finishing 22-8, 10-4 LEC).  They will aim to set a new best mark on Wednesday night at home.
• Hunter entered the day fifth in the country in field goal percentage at 71.9 percent; Brito entered the day 21st nationally in points per game at 22.7, and increased that number to 24.5 with his 37-point effort.  Using current marks, that would now be 11th.  He also figures to currently be in the top-20 in three-point percentage.
• Hunter is the first Owl to reach the 1,000 career point milestone since James Anozie in February of 2020.  Anozie, now an assistant coach, finished with 1,344 career points.  Hunter is currently at 1,009.  Brito is already at 560 thanks to 42 percent career three-point shooting in 36 games.
• KSC is 16-5 in their last 21 games away from Spaulding Gymnasium.

Up Next

• The Owls return home for a pair of conference games this week, starting with a matchup against Plymouth State University (6-3, 0-1 LEC) on Wednesday, December 7.  Tip-off it at 7:30 p.m.  There will be a reception for the KSC fall sports teams, and the game will also serve to amplify Morgan's Message, an organization that "strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics and "aim(s) to expand the dialogue on mental health by normalizing conversations, empowering those who suffer in silence, and supporting those who feel alone."  Plymouth lost their conference opener at home today against Western Connecticut State University 62-45.
• Southern Maine visits Rhode Island College (3-6, 1-0 LEC) on the same night at 7:30 p.m.