Hunter Moves to Top 25 of the Bevo Francis Award List
KEENE, N.H.—Keene State College basketball standouts Jeff Hunter and Octavio Brito were named All-Americans by D3hoops.com and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
It's the second consecutive year both have been named All-Americans; Hunter was named to the First Team by both organizations, while Brito was a Second Team choice by the NABC and a Third Team Choice by D3hoops.com. Both also become the first two-time All-Americans in school history.
Hunter was also named to the Top 25 of the Bevo Francis award for the second year in a row.
The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season. Next up on April 5th, the finalists of this year's award will be announced. The Bevo Francis Award winner will be announced on April 8th.
Hunter finished the season averaging 17.6 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.5 blocks per game. Hunter is at the top of a few categories across all Division III men's basketball players on the season, as he led the nation in double-doubles and rebounds, with 27 double-doubles (in 30 games, with second being at 21 double-doubles, in 27 games), and 404 rebounds on the season. Hunter also ranks third in rebounds per game (13.5), among the top 10 in blocks, with his 75 on the year putting him in sixth for most blocks in the country (along with the third most in a season in program history), twelfth in blocks per game (2.5), seventh in field goals made with 221, and sixteenth for field goal percentage, shooting 221-for-358, for a 61.73 FG%.
Both the career rebounds and blocks records were beat by Hunter on the season, as his 1,395 career rebounds and 238 blocks are both the most in program history and were achieved this year against UMass-Boston (2/3/24) and Western Connecticut State University (2/10/24), respectively, while his 1,923 points put him in fourth place in a career in the program. Hunter was also one of 19 in Division III men's basketball to record a triple double this season, and one of five to do so with points, rebounds, and blocks, as he recorded 19 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 blocks against Western Connecticut State (1/11/24).
Brito continued where he left off after a dominant sophomore season, proving why he was named a d3hoops.com Preseason All-American, as he finished the season averaging 19.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game over the season for the Owls. He finished among the top 25 in numerous individual stat categories out of all Division III men's basketball after his great junior season, as he placed 11th with 591 points scored, 16th in free throw percentage, going 119-for-133 (89.47%), and 23rd in field goals made, with his 202 field goals made from 421 attempts. Brito also had some individual season record this year, as he had the 11th most points in a single season (591), tied for 11th in three-pointers made (68), and fifth in free throw percentage (89.47%).
While recording individual season records, Brito also moved up on the program career record list, as he now ranks fifth in career points, after only three seasons (1,567), tied for 10th in points per game (17.8), sixth in field goals made (564), tied for fourth in three-pointers made (201), seventh in three-point percentage (40.1%), and tied for sixth in field goal percentage (81.0%). Brito scored 20 or more points in 15 of the 30 games on the year, including a career-high of 40 points in the second round of the 2024 Division III Men's Basketball Tournament against Eastern University. He shot 12-20 (60%) from the field, 8-13 from three (61.5%), and 8-10 (80%) from the free throw line, to go with his nine rebounds and four assists. Brito's 40 points were the most points scored by an individual in a game in over five years for the Owls, and his eight three pointers made were the most in a contest by an individual in over 15 years.