GORHAM, Maine – Octavio Brito scored 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting while he, Spencer Aronson, and Mason Jean Baptiste combined to make 11-of-19 from three-point range as the nationally No. 12 ranked Keene State College men's basketball team stomped the University of Southern Maine 116-81 in a Little East Conference game at Hill Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls (6-1, 2-0 LEC) will enter a 15-day holiday break after opening their conference slate with a pair of victories this week by a combined 65 points after they downed Plymouth State University 93-63 at home on Wednesday.  Today's 116-point output represented the most in series history and the tenth-highest point total in a single game in the Division III era for KSC, which has won seven straight against Southern Maine (5-5, 1-2 LEC), all by double-digits.  After losing four of five at Hill Gymnasium from 2016 through 2020, the Owls have won their last four in Gorham by a combined 91 points.  KSC downed USM 91-64 in last season's road matchup this past January.

Today's game was only briefly close, as after the Huskies drew within one at 12-11 four minutes into the game, the Owls embarked on a 15-4 run capped off by triples from Joshua Williams and Brito to push their lead to 27-15 not even eight minutes in.  Southern Maine sliced the deficit in half over the next few minutes, making it 34-28 on a layup by Aidan Hebert with 9:21 left in the opening half, but KSC answered quickly with six straight points and ultimately put 60 on the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes while shooting over 53 percent (23-43) from the field and 6-of-15 from three-point range.  Brito put up an 18-point half (7-10 FG, 2-3 3-PT, 2-2 FT) to go along with six assists, four rebounds, and two steals.  Wesley Odiase added nine points and Aronson eight (2-3 3-PT).

If there was to be any suspense in the second half, the prospects of that rapidly went away out of the locker room as the Owls came out on a 19-6 burst that took only 3:59 to push their advantage to 79-49.  Mitch Shettles found Brito alone by the basket for a flush at the 12:42 mark that made it 85-51, and in what might have been a perfect encapsulation of the day for Southern Maine, after Bryce Lausier made a three that bounced off the rim several times before falling, Brito swished a trey of his own 12 seconds later for the Owls.

KSC hit the 100 point mark for the second time this season on a pair of free throws by Shettles with 9:29 left, and their lead grew to a game-high 43 (102-59) on Williams' layup on the ensuing possession.  The Owls got 16 different players action in the second half, with 12 of them finding the scoring column.  As they have done all season, Keene State took exceptional care of the ball, committing just five turnovers including only two after halftime despite ample lineup combinations.  KSC entered the day fourth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, and likely only helped their numbers after an 18-to-5 mark today.  On the defensive end, the Owls forced Southern Maine into 20 turnovers and had a 28-4 advantage in points off miscues.  Keene State also had a 28-13 edge in bench points and saw their reserves outscore their Husky counterparts 44-26.

"It is good to see us clicking offensively.  We were strong in areas we are emphasizing – turnover margin and the offensive glass," said Keene State head coach Steve Enright.  "Defensively, I thought we were okay, but had some breakdowns that we will need to address before the trip to Wisconsin after Christmas."

Brito ultimately finished with a 28-point, 12-rebound double-double while adding five assists and two steals.  He was one of six Owls in double-figures, with Aronson adding 16 points (6-11 FG, 4-7 3-PT), Jean Baptiste 13 points (5-9 FG, 3-7 3-PT), and Shettles 12 points (7-8 FT).  Odiase added 11 points and six rebounds, while Leo Chaikin narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting and nine rebounds.  Four Owls (Brito, Jean Baptiste, Nate Siow, and Shettles) all had at least three assists.

Southern Maine was paced by 19 points apiece from Bryce Lausier (7-14 FG, 3-5 3-PT, 2-2 FT) and Thomas Whelan (7-10 FG, 5-5 FT), but suffered by far their most lopsided loss of the season despite shooting 9-of-24 (38%) from three as a team.  The Huskies had split their first two league games, winning 84-73 at Eastern Connecticut State University on December 4 before falling at Rhode Island College 84-80 this past Wednesday.

KSC returns to action at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Winter Invitational on December 29.  The Owls will take on the host Titans (7-1) on the opening night of the event at 8:30 p.m. ET before a matchup the following day with 20th-ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (6-2) at 2:30 p.m. ET.  The tournament will be held at the Oshkosh Arena, an off-campus venue across the Bascule Bridge over the Fox River, five minutes from the Kolf Sports Center on Oshkosh's campus.