MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Fifth year center Jeff Hunter posted a monster double-double of 20 points and 18 rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting while Tahmeen Dupree and Alonzo Linton combined for 27 points off the bench as the No. 7 nationally ranked Keene State College men's basketball team closed the first half on a 17-2 run to take a commanding lead and led by double-digits for the entire second half as they took care of Middlebury College 84-66 in non-conference action Monday night at Pepin Gymnasium.

Records

• No. 7 Keene State:  17-2
• Middlebury:  10-11

How It Happened
The Owls never trailed in the game, opening a 14-7 lead less than four minutes in after a trey from Spencer Aronson and a 21-11 edge after Wesley Odiase canned a triple at the 12:19 mark.  Down 23-16, the Panthers clawed back for a 27-27 tie – the only one of the contest – as KSC scored two points in nearly four minutes.  However, the deadlock was gone in the blink of an eye as the Owls rattled off 14 consecutive points in a little over three minutes to go up 41-27, and Dupree buried a three on KSC's last offensive trip of the half for a 15-point halftime lead.  In that span, Linton erupted for 10 points and the Owls made six of seven shots from the field, both threes, and all three free throws while holding Middlebury to 0-for-7 in what turned out to be the game-breaking stretch.

Keene State was never threatened in the second half, as a triple from Octavio Brito with 18:15 to go made it 51-33, and another less than three minutes later halted any Middlebury momentum after they briefly got back within 12.  A dunk by Hunter pushed the Owls' lead to 64-44 with 12:28 on the clock, and KSC was well on their way from there, leading by as many as 25 down the stretch (83-58).  Hunter and Brito combined for 24 points on 10-for-13 shooting in the second half to close out the home team after, in the first half, Dupree and Linton combined for 21 points and made 8-of-13 from the floor.  It was more of the typical balance – and in turn success – that people have become accustomed to from the Owls.

"Middlebury is always one of the most disciplined and best coached teams in New England," said Owls coach David Hastings. "It was an excellent team effort having four players in double-figures in scoring, led by Jeff.  As a team, we outrebounded them, again led by Jeff.  Tahmeen was instrumental in running the offense this evening, contributing 13 points and three rebounds)."

KSC shot 50 percent (34-68) from the floor overall in the game and pounded the Panthers on the glass 39-24, including 22-10 in the opening 20 minutes.  Everybody that saw time for the Owls scored, including four in double-figures.  Hunter added two assists and two blocks to his line, while Brito had 10 points (3-8 FG, 2-2 3-PT, 2-2 FT).  Dupree finished with his 13 points on an efficient 6-for-9 mark from the field, and Linton had 14 points (5-12 FG, 3-3 FT).  Wesley Odiase narrowly missed double-figures himself, finishing with nine points (3-5 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-3 FT) and six rebounds.  As a team, the Owls shot 49 percent in the first half and held Middlebury to only 38 percent.  The Panthers warmed up to a 48 percent showing after halftime, but KSC never gave them a chance because the Owls shot 52 percent from the field and saw their two All-Americans in control, combining for 24 points and 10 rebounds in 26 combined second half minutes.  Mason Jean Baptiste scored seven points (3-8 FG) and is now just two points away from becoming the 40th member of the Keene State men's basketball 1,000 career point club.

Middlebury was paced by 12 points apiece from Tristan Joseph (5-10 FG, 2-3 3-PT) and Noah Osher (3-11 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 5-6 FT).  David Brennan added 10 points on 5-for-6 shooting, three rebounds, and five assists.  The Panthers had only 10 turnovers (KSC 12), but were outscored 42-28 in the paint and 21-6 in second chances.  Their reserves were also outscored 38-19.

Inside the Paint

• The road team has now won six straight in the head-to-head series; KSC has won three straight in Vermont against Middlebury, averaging 87.7 points per game and winning by an average of 10.7 points per game.  Tonight's margin of victory was the largest by the Owls in the 15-game series between the teams.
• KSC is 5-0 this season when Dupree scores in double-digits, winning by a combined 104 points.
• Hunter had six fewer rebounds individually than Middlebury finished with as a team.  He is just one off tying for the most double-doubles in the country one year after being the statistical champion in that category.  As for the KSC lists, Hunter needs just 19 more rebounds to become the Owls' all-time leader (currently at 1,234) and seven more blocks to do the same in that category.
• Keene State moved up two spots in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll that came out just a few hours before the game.  The Owls, 45-4 in the last two seasons, have now been ranked in 23 consecutive polls.

Up Next

• The Owls return home to host Vermont State University Castleton (6-13, 2-8 LEC) on Wednesday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m.  The Cheshire Cats jump rope team will perform at halftime of both games of the doubleheader, including the women's contest at 5:30 p.m.
• Middlebury, who had won five of seven entering the game to get back to .500, hosts Wesleyan University (Conn.) (12-8, 3-3 NESCAC) on Friday, February 2 at 7:00 p.m. before meeting unbeaten Trinity College (Conn.) the following afternoon.