Owls Control Vast Majority of First "March Madness" Home Game Since 2007, Stave Off Baruch 89-78

KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore guard Octavio Brito bounced back in a big way and the Keene State College men's basketball team also got a national-best 23rd double-double of the season from senior forward Jeff Hunter – with the pair doing what they have done all season in combining for 51 points – as the fifth-ranked Owls made their home NCAA return a happy one with an 89-78 victory over Baruch College at Spaulding Gymnasium Friday night.  The Owls advance to take on Tufts University, who defeated Widener University 78-66 in the day's opening game and the first to tip-off in the entire Division III rendition of "March Madness," on Saturday night at 5:30 p.m.

Records

• No. 5 Keene State:  27-1
• Baruch:  22-6

Postgame Press Conference (Keene State)
Postgame Press Conference (Baruch)

How It Happened
After self-admittedly struggling in KSC's Little East Conference championship game win over Western Connecticut State University, Brito bounced back from his 5-for-18 shooting performance in which he did not score until the second half by torching the Bearcats in his fourth effort of at least 30 points this season, one that moves him 48 points from the 1,000 career point milestone – which he could get this year if the Owls play long enough, or perhaps early next season.  He is in the running to become the fastest KSC player to reach the milestone in program history, which is compatriot Hunter achieved this past December.  The Owl big man also had a strong showing in the NCAA opener, scoring 21 points while making 8-of-10 shots and all five free throws.  He added 15 rebounds and four assists.

Brito drained four triples in the opening half, including on consecutive possessions to give his team a 15-7 lead less than five minutes in, and advantage that grew to 22-11 less than two minutes later when he made another.  KSC was still up 10 (25-15) at the 11:37 mark of the opening half after the Lincoln, R.I. native made yet one more, but a tenacious Baruch team that battled to an overtime win in their conference tournament championship game just as the Owls did hung around, forcing Keene State to execute most of the night.  Two free throws from Devin Nicholson chipped the Bearcats' deficit to five (27-22) with 9:05 to go in the first half, but KSC ran off the next six to go up double-figures again and Mason Jean Baptiste drained a three at the 5:42 mark to make it 36-24.  The long range make from anyone other than Brito on the night was actually a rarity, as outside of his 6-for-12 showing from deep, the remainder of the team was just 4-for-25 (16 percent).  However, thanks to 51 percent shooting overall in the first half, 67 percent from inside the arc on the night, a 46-30 rebounding advantage, and a 19-to-9 assist-to-turnover ratio, the Owls did more than enough to advance past the first round of the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season after they knocked off 20th-ranked Swarthmore College on their home court last year.  Michael Gannon's three-pointer brought Baruch within 36-27 with just under five minutes to go in the opening half as the Bearcats continued to hang round, but KSC scored seven straight in 51 seconds to quickly push their lead to 43-27.  It reached as high as 17 in the opening 20 minutes (46-29) before settling on 50-37 at the break.

Brito buried a triple from about equidistant from the three-point line and half court to get the second half scoring started and put KSC in front 53-37, but the rest of the period was more or less the same story as the first – the Owls controlling most statistical categories but misfiring from three, and the Bearcats continuing to battle but ultimately never getting closer than eight…and as soon as they did that, who else but Brito hit back with a three, block, and layup in a 29 second span to make it 60-47 with 16:26 to go.  That flurry kick-started a 9-0 burst for the Owls, who eventually went up 17 again two minutes later and eventually 67-49 on a triple from Spencer Aronson at the 14:19 mark.  A steal and layup from Tahmeen Dupree made it a game-high 19-point lead, and although Nicholson finished off seven straight for Baruch to chop it to 12, KSC was never seriously threatened thereafter, as Jean Baptiste hit a three with 7:50 left that made it 76-61.  A free throw by Siow and then offensive rebound and putback of the miss on the second – shades of the Little East Conference championship game – from Brito kept the lead at 13 three minutes later, and a Siow bucket and Aronson dagger three after the final media timeout made it 86-70.

Brito's 30-point effort came on 11-for-23 shooting including 6-for-12 from three-point range.  He also added 13 boards for his own double-double to join Hunter, three assists, and three blocks.  Jean Baptiste finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Jeric Cichon rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points (4-6 FG), two rebounds, two assists, and two steals.

The Bearcats, who were making their seventh NCAA appearance, got 14 points apiece from Jehmehl Fair (5-10 FG, 4-6 FT) and Gannon (6-10 FG, 1-4 3-PT, 1-1 FT).  Emil Purisic had nine (3-5 FG, 3-4 FT) and Baruch shot 52 percent, 50 percent from three, and made 4-of-5 at the free throw line in the second half while only committing 10 turnovers in the game, but had no answers for the Brito/Hunter tandem, which combined for 51 points on 19-of-33 shooting, 28 rebounds, seven assists, and four blocks.

Inside the Paint

• KSC has picked up first round victories in six of their eight NCAA tournament appearances.  They will now look to punch their fifth Sweet 16 ticket in the last nine years tomorrow night and attempt to get past a round that tripped them up one year ago, this time on their own floor.
• Brito now has five games of at least six threes this season.
• It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Up Next

• The Owls' second round contest against Tufts tips off at 5:30 p.m. at Spaulding Gymnasium tomorrow night (March 4).  Ticket information can be viewed here.  The two teams have not played since December of 2010, an 86-64 KSC win in Keene, and will reacquaint in the "Big Dance" with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.  The Jumbos made the Elite Eight in 2016 and Sweet 16 a year later before seeing their 2020 NCAA trip cut short by the cancellation.
• Baruch's season is over.  They have won at least 20 games in three of the last four full seasons, and have made the NCAA tournament in 2000, 2006, 2009, 2015, 2019, and 2022.