KSC Completes Season Sweep of Plymouth State With 80-63 Road Win on Wintry Night

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior forward Jeff Hunter tacked on another double-double to his long list and senior guard Jeric Cichon added one of his own as the nationally sixth-ranked Keene State College men's basketball team washed away a late first half lapse to mostly cruise past Plymouth State University 80-63 in a Little East Conference contest Wednesday night inside Foley Gymnasium on what was otherwise a wintry, icy night.

Records

• No. 6 Keene State:  18-1, 10-0 LEC
• Plymouth State:  8-11, 1-9 LEC

How It Happened
Hunter's 14th double-double of the season was his second 20/20 performance in the last 15 days as the Panthers had few answers for him, especially on the glass where he gobbled up eight of the Owls' offensive rebounds (half the total) as KSC mashed PSU on the glass 53-37 in the double-digit victory, their 14th of the season.  The performance on the boards and in the turnover department, where Keene State committed only six as they continue to take tremendous care of the ball, helped nullify what was not one of their better three-point shooting nights of the season (6-for-25, 24 percent) or free throw performances (8-for-14, 57 percent).  Even still, behind four long-range makes from leading scorer Octavio Brito (28 points on 10-for-19 shooting, 4-4 FT) and timely ones from Mason Jean Baptiste, KSC never trailed after surrendering the opening two points and separated from a five-point halftime lead quickly, going up double-digits (51-41) with 17:55 to go on a layup from Nate Siow.  Plymouth briefly chipped a 12-point gap down to seven (53-46) on a three from Elijah Swanson a little less than four minutes later, but that was as close as they got.  Hunter restored an 11-point edge with 13:03 remaining with a conventional three-point play, and a layup from Brito a little over a minute after had KSC in front 61-48.  The Owl big man scored again with 9:55 left to put his team up 15, and the visitors were well on their way from there, holding PSU to five points in a seven-minute stretch that helped turn a 63-52 advantage into an 80-57 blowout with a 17-5 push.  Layups from Brito and Hunter on consecutive trips sandwiching a Panther turnover forced by Siow made it 75-54 at the 5:18 mark, and Ben Pearce's three-pointer on Plymouth's possession was one of the few baskets KSC surrendered down the stretch until the home team put up six in the final 1:31 to set the final margin.  Hunter and Brito combined for 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting in what was otherwise a slower offensive second half for the Owls, who shot 38 percent from the floor (nine percentage points lower than the first half), but KSC's defense sprung to life and helped create a 9-0 edge in points off turnovers despite PSU committing only five (the Owls had three in the half and six total; Plymouth had 10 total).

"We generally play the type of defense where we take away what the team wants to do and what the players want to do.  I don't think we did a good enough job guarding the players' strengths in the first half…we did a decent job against their offense but their players got too many easy looks," said Keene State head coach Ryan Cain.  "We were able to lock in defensively better in the second half to take away the action as well as the strengths of their players."

Plymouth State, after trailing 41-13 in the first half in the initial meeting between the two teams this season at Spaulding Gymnasium, hung around longer this time and was within 40-35 at the half after a lapse from the Owls to end the half allowed them to score 11 of the final 14 points to turn what might have been trending toward a blowout then back into a close game.  KSC led 24-22 at the 8:24 mark of the opening half after a Giorgi Tsiklauri layup, but then embarked on a 13-2 surge that began with a Brito three and culminated with baskets from Tahmeen Dupree and Siow for a 37-24 edge.  Kyler Bosse, who ultimately finished just 9-for-24 from the floor (38 percent) on the night, ended the run with a three and ended up sparking a big one for the home team heading into the locker room – one that never came when the two teams played in Keene as KSC led 54-26 at the break.  PSU chipped the lead to just one possession early in the second half (40-37), but then allowed six points in 40 seconds to rapidly fall back behind by nine again and never recovered.

"We allowed them back in the game before the half after going on a nice run to build a lead because we had some stretches where we gave up 1-on-1 scores and uncontested baskets," said Cain.  "In the second half, the types of shots they were forced to take were much more contested and challenged…and credit to them for making some of those difficult shots to keep them in the game."

Bosse paced Plymouth with 20 points and six rebounds.  Swanson added 16 points (6-12 FG, 2-3 3-PT), five rebounds, and two blocks.  Pearce made both of his long-range attempts and scored eight, but the Panthers were limited to a 12-for-32 showing from the floor as a team in the second half and are four games back in the loss column of the sixth and final playoff spot in the conference.

Keene State continues to remain in first place as the season heads toward February, but with still six regular season games to go.  Brito, in addition to his 28 points, added eight rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.  Hunter finished with 21 points (9-16 FG), 20 rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Cichon had 10 points (5-12 FG) and 11 boards.  Siow finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and two steals as the Owls improved to 7-0 on the road this season.

Inside the Paint

• KSC has outrebounded their last three opponents by a combined 146-93 (plus-53) margin.
• The Owls have had single-digit turnovers in nine games this season and have won those contests by an average margin of 25.6 points per game.
• Hunter remains within two double-doubles of the national leader in that category (Curt Heinz of Maine Maritime Academy, who has 16.)
• Keene State leads Western Connecticut State University by a game and a half for first place after tonight's action.  The Wolves kept pace by winning on the road at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, turning a 63-58 deficit with 4:58 left into a 79-75 victory.  KSC and WCSU have one more meeting in Danbury in early February, which may not only have conference implications but also regional ranking and resume implications.  The Owls stormed back to win the first meeting in overtime at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Up Next

• The Owls visit Rhode Island College (6-12, 4-6 LEC) on Saturday, January 28 for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.  The Anchormen were picked apart by the University of Southern Maine in Gorham 89-76 tonight, allowing the Huskies to shoot 59 percent from the field.  KSC dominated RIC 98-60 in the season's first meeting in December, opening a 22-2 lead less than five minutes in.
• Plymouth State hosts Eastern Connecticut State University (8-11, 5-5 LEC) on the same day (3:00 p.m.)  Eastern squeezed past the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 68-65 tonight at home.