DANBURY, Conn. – Keene State College fifth year All-American center Jeff Hunter turned in a performance more than deserving of that title, finishing with 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 blocks, three assists, and three steals, as the nationally 13th-ranked Owls moved into sole possession of first place in the Little East Conference with a 77-69 victory at Western Connecticut State University Thursday night at Feldman Arena.

Records

• No. 13 Keene State:  12-2, 6-0 LEC
• Western Connecticut:  13-3, 6-1 LEC

How It Happened
KSC sprinted out to leads of 8-2 and 19-8 in the early-going and never trailed again, answering every WestConn push with one of their own as they handed the Wolves – receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll – their first conference loss after they entered the game with six double-digit wins by an average of 24 points in league play.  On this night, WCSU led for all of 42 seconds and trailed for the final 37:32.  The Owls led 47-38 at the break behind 53 percent shooting and 5-for-11 from three, but then used their defense after halftime to lock down the win as they shot just 31 percent and missed all 12 threes they took on the offensive end.  Thanks to a remarkable seven blocks by Hunter in the final 20 minutes, WestConn shot just 11-for-35 (31 percent) from the floor themselves, and never got any closer than four.  When they did get within that margin, the Owls leaned on Hunter, who grabbed an offensive board and was fouled, making two free throws with 2:27 left to make it 71-65.  Jourdan Belcher's bucket on the ensuing trip again made it a four-point gap, but Octavio Brito drove the lane for a layup to answer and Hunter then swatted Jeremiah Williams on the other end – his 10th and final block of the game to secure a triple-double with 1:27 to go.  Leading 73-69, the Owl big man then authored a punctuation mark, flushing home a feed from Nate Siow with just under a minute to go to push the lead to six.  CJ Riley then misfired on a three for the home team – who was limited to just 2-for-13 from distance in the game – and Mason Jean Baptiste made two free throws to ice the game if it hadn't been already and set the final margin.  Overall, Hunter's second half consisted of nine points (5-for-6 at the foul line), 10 rebounds, seven blocks, and a steal.  His 10 total blocks marked a new career-high, three more than his previous best mark, and he now has 203 for his career – just 14 away from surpassing Nate Howard's '16 school record.  Hunter's block total is the highest single-game total in modern history, surpassing Howard's nine in a 2014 win over Western New England, and tied for the second most in a game at any level of NCAA college basketball this season.  His triple-double is just the 11th in Division III this season (nobody having more than one).

The rematch of the 2023 Little East tournament championship game ultimately played out the same way all three matchups last season did – with a KSC win.  However, as compared to the previous three matchups when the Owls turned the ball over a combined 55 times (22 twice) against WCSU's pressure, which has forced 21 or more turnovers 12 times, they took far better care of the ball on this night, committing just 11 miscues – the fewest turnovers the Wolves have forced in a game this season (seven lower than the next closest).  As a result, KSC played from ahead.  Buckets by Hunter and Jean Baptiste within the first six minutes had the Owls up eight, and a triple from Alonzo Linton on what wound up being an impressive night, made it a double-digit edge at the 12:05 mark.  A Brito triple made it 23-13 two minutes later, and Keene State matched their largest edge at 28-17 following a Jean Baptiste trey with 9:04 to go in the half.  The Wolves hung around from there, reeling off seven in a row to get within four before Brito squashed the run with a three, and a pair of buckets later by Tahmeen Dupree pumped the lead right back up to 11 again (36-25) with 4:42 remaining.  WestConn answered again with seven straight in barely over 30 seconds to rapidly get with back within four, but Linton and Hunter restored an eight-point (42-34) edge with two minutes to go following buckets on consecutive possessions.  Spencer Aronson, who torched WCSU in last year's season series to the tune of 41 points in two regular season games, drained a triple with 1:30 left to make it 45-36, and KSC carried a nine-point edge to the locker room after Hunter finished at the rim in the final seconds.

WestConn scored the opening bucket of the second half to make it a seven-point game, but a Brito bucket and Hunter dunk made it 51-40 with 17 minutes to go, and KSC went up 12 (54-42) two minutes later.  The Wolves hit back with seven straight in less than two minutes and were still within five after Riley's jumper with 12:09 left, but Linton sizzled, pouring in eight points including a steal and dunk in what was a game-breaking 1:36 span that helped provide the Owls a 66-54 lead with 10:05 to go.  KSC's offense turned ice cold from there, but their defense carried them home, holding WCSU to 29 percent (6-for-21) from the floor over the game's final 11:53 once they got within five before Linton's outburst.  A Siow layup with 4:05 left put KSC in front 69-61, and the Owls made their final four free throws down the stretch to prevent the Wolves from getting any closer than four.

"It was a great team effort," said Keene State coach David Hastings.  "WestConn is extremely well-coached and has a bunch of very talented players.  Our team grew a bit today playing a physical and close game, closing strong.  Jeff having a triple-double was simply an incredible effort and energy on his part.  Alonzo's contribution off the bench was outstanding."

Beyond Hunter, Linton finished with 16 points on an impressive 7-for-9 showing from the floor (1-2 3-PT) off the bench.  He added three rebounds and two steals.  Brito finished with 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting, seven rebounds, and two assists.  Siow was 2-for-4 from the floor and had seven assists to just one turnover.  Four Owls had multiple assists and five had multiple steals, paced by three from Hunter and Dupree, as KSC forced 16 turnovers.

Cameron Gallon (6-10 FG, 2-3 3-PT) and Belcher paced WCSU with 14 points apiece, with Belcher adding 11 rebounds (six offensive for a double-double) and Gallon six boards.  Williams had nine points (3-5 FG), but the Wolves were gashed in transition, getting outscored 27-14.

Inside the Paint

• Hunter now has 1,174 career rebounds, 79 away from becoming KSC's all-time boards leader.
• WCSU had a 50-40 rebounding edge including 21 on the offensive end, but the Owls' interior defense inside the arc held them to a 24-for-60 effort.
• WestConn is 19-6 in their last 25 conference games (including the conference tournament), with now four of those losses coming against Keene State.  The Owls lead the all-time series 40-19.
• KSC is 4-0 when Linton scores in double-figures.  In those games, he is shooting 24-for-45 from the field and 6-of-12 from three-point range.

Up Next

• Keene State visits Rhode Island College (11-4, 4-2 LEC) on Saturday, January 13 for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off in Providence.  The Anchormen have lost two of their past three to start 2024, including a 78-66 defeat at WCSU this past Tuesday.
• Western Connecticut goes to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (8-6, 5-1 LEC) on the same day (3:00 p.m.).  The Wolves eliminated the Corsairs in a 94-75 rout at home in last year's LEC semifinals before falling to KSC in the title game.  UMD suffered their first league loss earlier today, 70-64 at the University of Southern Maine.