WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Senior forward Jeff Hunter posted his first career 20-point, 20-rebound double-double while star sophomore guard Octavio Brito poured in a game-high 29 points as the nationally fourth-ranked Keene State College men's basketball team overcame a sub-40 percent shooting performance from the field by forcing 21 Eastern Connecticut State University turnovers in a 70-58 Little East Conference victory over the Warriors Tuesday night at Geissler Gymnasium.
Records
- No. 4 Keene State: 14-0, 6-0 LEC
- Eastern Connecticut: 6-9, 3-3 LEC
How It Happened
It was another defensive-oriented game in KSC's post-holiday break schedule, which has included 62-54, 71-68 (OT), and now 70-58 victories in three of their first four games. After not shooting below 42 percent in any game until December 30, the Owls have now been under that mark in three of four games, but thanks to the steady Hunter and contributions from others when needed most, Keene State continues to rack up wins now past the season's midway point, as evidenced by moving up two spots to a program-best No. 4 ranking in yesterday's D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. Tonight, it was the Owls' pestering defense that proved to be the deciding factor, turning the season-high in Warrior turnovers into a huge 28-4 points advantage off the miscues (KSC had just nine turnovers). Keene State, with Hunter grabbing six offensive boards and Mason Jean Baptiste three, also had an 11-4 edge in second chance points.
"It was definitely a bit of a defensive battle," said Owls head coach Ryan Cain. "We haven't gotten our offense going for several reasons but believe in our guys and that we will get back to playing at a higher level on that end of the floor. Credit to our defense that we can keep games low-scoring when our offense is not going, and really important to be able to win in different ways."
Traveling to a gymnasium that has overall not been friendly despite a pair of conference championships being won inside it and a semifinal rout last season for KSC, the Owls played from ahead most of the way, never trailing after Hunter tied the game at 21 with a layup at the 7:21 mark of the opening half. Brito followed with a jumper on the next possession, and Eastern Connecticut tied the game just one more time after that when Tyreice Woods went to the basket for a layup 14 seconds later. Keene State gained a small bit of separation with a 6-0 burst late in the first half that helped turn a 26-25 edge into a game-high seven-point lead at the 2:19 mark following layups from Tahmeen Dupree and Hunter. Jean Baptiste drained a three in the final minute to make it 35-28 before Rakesh Tibby brought the Warriors within five at the break with a layup with 34 seconds left. Brito and Hunter combined for 24 points and 11 rebounds on 10-of-22 shooting in the opening half, but KSC's lead could not grow much thanks to 38 percent shooting from the floor. Eastern freshman Dominick Dao made four of five shots and both threes he took for a team leading 10 points as the home team connected at a 46 percent clip overall in the half to negate nine turnovers and allowing seven offensive rebounds.
The Owls heated up offensively only slightly after the break, shooting 40 percent, but clamped down on Dao and aside from 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting from Woods, ECSU had very few answers on offense for KSC's defense that held them without a three and forced 12 turnovers.
"Obviously when your offense isn't going, you have to find ways to generate easy baskets and we have been fortunate to be able to do so by forcing turnovers and playing off them," said Cain.
Hunter scored on consecutive possessions to give Keene State a 39-34 edge with 16:57 remaining, but the Owls then went well over three minutes without a point in an uncharacteristic offensive drought, as a layup from Tibby at the 14:33 mark had ECSU within one at 39-38. The Warriors had one chance to claim a second half lead but missed, and subsequently scored just two points over the next six minutes as KSC was finally able to gain somewhat of a cushion, going up six (44-38) after a Hunter layup and Mike Carothers steal that turned into a Brito triple with a little over 13 minutes to go. Eastern Connecticut's lone basket in that stretch brought them within 44-40 on the next trip down the court, but Brito scored the next four including a tip-in putback for an eight-point lead and Hunter swallowed up a post entry pass from Dao, which turned into a driving layup from Dupree at the other end to make it 50-40 with 9:32 to go. Brito and Jean Baptiste gave the Owls a 12-point lead on a pair of occasions over the next two minutes, and although KSC never delivered a true dagger, did more than enough down the stretch to lock up the season's 14th victory.
First career 20/20 double-double tonight (and 11th overall this season, tied for 2nd in the country) for @jeff_hunter11 as @KSCBasketball pulled away from Eastern Connecticut for a 70-58 road win to improve to 14-0, 6-0 in the LEC! @CoachCainKSC12 @GoOwlsKSCAD @KeeneSentSports pic.twitter.com/BtihQKXEsG
— ???? Keene State Athletics (@KeeneStateOwls) January 11, 2023
Nate Siow put the Owls in front 58-46 with 4:57 on the clock and Jeric Cichon canned a jumper less than a minute later to maintain the same KSC advantage. After Eastern made four free throws in a span of two trips up the court to remain within shouting distance, Brito scored with 2:42 left for a 62-52 lead. Woods culminated his strong individual half – tallying half of his team's total points in the final 20 minutes – by going to the basket twice late to give the home team one final shot down the stretch after they made it 62-56 with 1:21 remaining, but KSC made six consecutive free throws to restore a double-digit lead (68-58) with 44 seconds left and put a bow on the win in fitting fashion when Dupree stole the ball from Max Lee off the ensuing inbound, setting up a Hunter flush off a pass from Brito.
Brito made 10-of-24 shots from the floor and all eight of his free throws in his 29 point effort that also featured eight rebounds, two assists, a block, and three steals. It becomes harder and harder for Hunter to establish new career bests, but he did so today with his first 20-point, 20-rebound double-double. The Owl big man also added two blocks and three steals.
"Jeff has been a rock for us all year," said Cain. "He is physically at a different level this season and has been able to control the defensive glass. I am proud of his effort and toughness, which have allowed him to consistently produce double-doubles (he has 11, tied for second-most in the country)."
Jean Baptiste tossed in an important 11 points for KSC to round out the double-figure scorers, shooting 3-of-7 from the floor and making two of his three tries from long-range on a night where the Owls were otherwise ice cold from three, finishing 3-for-15.
Woods paced Eastern Connecticut with 19 points (7-17 FG, 1-5 3-PT, 4-4 FT), four rebounds, and six assists. Tibby added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting off the bench. Dao ended up with 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-3 3-PT), but just two after halftime, while adding seven rebounds and three assists.
Inside the Paint
- Brito has scored at least 22 points nine times this season.
- The Owls are plus-52 in assist-to-turnover ratio themselves while punishing their opponents into a minus-90 margin on the season.
- KSC leads the all-time series 33-30 and has won eight of the last 11 meetings between the teams, five by double-digits.
Up Next
- An important stretch rolls on for Keene State, who will travel to the University of Massachusetts-Boston (11-3, 4-1 LEC) on Saturday, January 15 for a 3:00 p.m. start. The Beacons, who have won seven straight since a 16-point loss at Western Connecticut State University on December 6, host the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Wednesday night.
- The Warriors, who had won four of five entering the night, travel to the University of Southern Maine (9-5, 3-2 LEC) on Thursday, January 12. Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m. The Huskies have only three wins over the Warriors since the start of the 2008-2009 season.