KSC Washes Away Slow Start to Become First Team to Finish 16-0 in LEC Since League Expanded

KEENE, N.H. – Star sophomore guard Octavio Brito made 10 of his final 13 shots and 6-of-8 from three-point range while adding five rebounds to score 29 points while leading five in double-figures as the nationally No. 5 ranked Keene State College men's basketball team closed a shining regular season – and an unbeaten Little East Conference one – with a 92-77 victory over the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Senior Day Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• No. 5 Keene State:  24-1, 16-0 LEC
• UMass-Boston:  15-10, 8-8 LEC

Links
Postgame Interview (Coach Cain)
Postgame Interview (Octavio Brito)
Broadcast Special Guest!  Keene State College President Dr. Melinda Treadwell

Little East 2022-2023 Team vs. Team Results
2023 Little East Tournament Bracket

How It Happened
Only one team had previously made it through a Little East schedule unblemished since the league had moved to a 14-game slate when KSC joined the league prior to the 1997-1998 season (Eastern Connecticut State University in 2013-2014).  Now you can make it two, as the Owls polished off a dominant league regular season, winning by an average of 21.9 points per game and 14 of 16 games by double-figures.  Today was more of the same in the end, with Keene State kicking it into gear later in the first half and ultimately never looking back on a day in which they honored five seniors – Nick Redden, Jeric Cichon, Max Bonney-Liles, Tyler Dill, Edwin Ezedonmwen – in a ceremony before the game.  The Owls actually never led in the opening 20 minutes, but trimmed what was an 11-point deficit at one point to five by halftime, and started the second half with nine points in a row in 83 seconds to go in front by four.  UMass-Boston bounced back to retake a one-point lead (47-46) with 16:10 to go, but that was short-lived, as Mason Jean Baptiste posted a four-point play nine seconds later and the Beacons were flattened from there, with a 7-0 Owl burst in 63 seconds helping provide a 57-47 edge with 14:03 left.  When Cichon made a layup with 11:17 to go, it was 65-49.  KSC then reeled off 12 more points in a row punctuated by an Octavio Brito dunk at the 7:44 mark to go up 22, and it was smooth sailing from there to their 24th victory of the season.

Overall, after the Beacons held a 21-10 lead with 9:07 to go in the first half, Keene State bludgeoned the visitors 75-40 over then next 23 minutes of game action to take an 85-61 lead, their biggest of the game.   In that span, the Owls shot a sizzling 60 percent (26-for-43) from the field, made 11-of-17 from three (65 percent), and 12-for-14 (86 percent) at the foul line.  They also forced eight UMB turnovers.  A day where Brito missed his first three shots turned into a supernova performance, as he made 6-of-8 from three and poured in 29 points in the dominant stretch.  He shot 10-of-16 from the field overall and added five rebounds, quickly asserting himself after a pair of "quieter" games where he scored just 20 points combined in wins over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth and Castleton University.  He was far from the only Owl in double-figures though, and unsurprisingly when KSC is at their best, they display balance and had four others in double-digits.  Jeff Hunter finished with another double-double and barely missed a triple-double, this time 15 points (7-16 FG) and 13 rebounds to go along with nine assists, five blocks, and two steals.  Mason Jean Baptiste (4-9 FG, 3-6 3-PT) finished with 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists, while Jeric Cichon (4-9 FG, 4-4 FT) narrowly missed his own double-double with 12 points and nine boards.  Nate Siow (3-5 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 5-6 FT) also had 12 points for KSC, who had already clinched the outright Little East Conference title and No. 1 seed in the upcoming league tournament before today.

Malik Lorquet paced UMass-Boston with 19 points including the 1,000th of his career in the final minute.  He was, however, held to just 5-for-15 shooting from the floor but made 9-of-14 at the free throw line while adding 16 rebounds and six assists.  He and Hunter are neck-and-neck in the country for the double-double lead; Curt Heinz of Maine Maritime Academy, Jarred Houston of Emerson College, and Lorquet all have 21 while Hunter has 20.  Depending on results, Hunter may have a chance to pass them.  Xavier McKenzie (7-15 FG, 2-3 3-PT) added 16 points and four rebounds while Ike Eluwa had 13 points for UMB and the Beacons shot 9-for-17 from three-point land (53 percent), but it was not nearly enough to avoid their third consecutive loss to end the season.  When Keene State traveled to Boston on January 14, a 78-71 win, it was a game for first place.  Four weeks later after a 3-7 stretch, UMass-Boston now finds themselves hitting the road for an LEC quarterfinal on Tuesday night.

For the Owls, it was generally more of the same in what was an impressive regular season.  KSC outscored opponents by a tick under 20 points per game (19.9) and has shot 46 percent from the field, 36 percent from three-point range, and have 103 more assists than turnovers while their opponents have 185 more turnovers than assists.  The Owls' two leaders and co-captains have averaged nearly 40 points per game combined, with Hunter shooting 61 percent from the field and Brito 50 percent, including 46.5 percent from three-point range.

 "The only way you consistently sustain a level of success that puts you in a position to win every game is by having a group that is player-driven," said Keene State head coach Ryan Cain.  "If they are trying to do something because we ask them to do it, then there is going to be big swings and big up-and-down moments.  These guys push each other, they play for each other, it's their program…really good players, really good leaders, and it has allowed them to play at a level that has just been pretty impressive for the most part."

"The consistency in which we (have brought) it throughout this regular season has been great…and now equally is great is that we are 0-0.  We start over."

The postseason road begins at home Thursday night.

Inside the Paint

• The Owls finish the regular season 23rd out of 412 Division III teams in assist-to-turnover ratio, 46th in assists per game, 31st in blocks per game, 18th in rebounds per game, third in scoring margin, 11th in points per game, and tenth in steals per game.  In addition to his double-double race, Hunter is seventh individually in blocks per game and third in rebounds per game.  Brito is ninth in three-point percentage.
• KSC leads the all-time series 47-9, including 26-3 at Spaulding Gymnasium.
• In addition to the Senior Day recognitions, Hunter was presented with his 1,000 point ball after he reached the milestone earlier this season.  He enters the postseason just five points shy of moving up one spot to 13th on the all-time scoring list.  Brito is 109 points away from reaching 1,000 himself.

Up Next

• Keene State is home for a Little East tournament semifinal on Thursday night (February 23) at 7:00 p.m. against either this same Beacons team (the No. 5 seed) or fourth-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University.  ECSU finished fourth after the University of Southern Maine knocked off Western Connecticut State University 91-84 in two overtimes in Gorham.  The Beacons were locked into fifth with a loss today.
• UMass-Boston will take on the Warriors in Tuesday night's (February 21) quarterfinal, which starts at 6:00 p.m. in Willimantic, Conn.  The teams split the season series, with UMB winning 67-58 in Boston in December and Eastern 81-73 in Willimantic in January.