KEENE, N.H. – Octavio Brito scored 29 points including 17 on perfect 6-for-6 shooting from the field in the second half to help the Keene State College men's basketball team begin washing away the sting of two straight losses in Wisconsin, as the nationally No. 12 ranked Owls used a timely late second half run to thwart Connecticut College 69-64 in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.

KSC (7-3) led 38-31 at halftime after outscoring the Camels (7-6) 16-6 over the final 9:52 of the opening half, but the visitors would not go away, tying the game with a 7-0 run out of the locker room that took 3:23.  Connecticut College took their lone lead of the second half at 47-45 with 9:11 left on a floater from RJ Casey as they again scored seven straight to erase what had been a five-point Owl advantage, but Brito took over from there, scoring six of KSC's points in an 8-0 surge that took 1:25 as the home team went back in front 53-47.  The uprising began with Brito getting fouled at the rim while making a layup, and it turned into a four-point trip despite his free throw rolling out as he flew into the lane to put back his miss.  Brito would rise for a thunderous dunk off a pass from the baseline to the middle by Liam Johnston to put the Owls up six with 7:33 left, and KSC was on their way from there, ultimately extending the run to 15-2 that made it 60-49 with 3:07 left.  Johnston canned a big three off a feed from Spencer Aronson with 5:48 left to push the lead to nine, his second triple of the half after his other one had made it 45-40.  He was fouled on the way down, but could not convert the rare four-point play.  It did not much matter, though, as the Owls held the Camels to a 1-for-10 shooting mark and just two points while forcing five turnovers in a 6:20 span that encompassed the game-changing burst.  Brito had eight points in that time on his way to the perfect shooting half from the floor, ultimately finishing the game 9-for-15 from the floor, 2-of-5 from three, and 9-of-11 from the free throw line.  He added three blocks and two steals.

Cam Schainfeld tried to help Conn make a late push with a layup, steal, and three in a 15-second span to make it a five-point game, but Brito responded with a three from well beyond NBA range to make it 65-57 with 1:28 left.  KSC then bothered Garrett Clar defensively before Nate Siow picked off his pass back out to the three-point line from inside and Brito went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe to push the Owls into a double-digit lead again with 18 seconds to go.  The Camels scored five points in the final 10 seconds, including a buzzer-beating three by Elias Espinosa, to set the final margin.

In addition to Brito, Mason Jean Baptiste finished in double-figures with 13 points (5-13 FG, 3-9 3-PT) and five assists.  He was 4-for-6 shooting including 3-of-5 from deep in 18 first half minutes, playing a key role in helping KSC flip a 27-24 deficit at the 7:26 mark to a 38-29 advantage six minutes later.  In that span, the Owls as a team were 4-for-8 from the floor and 3-of-5 from three.  Nate Siow (4-5 FG) added eight points and Leo Chaikin – starting for the first time – six (2-2 FG, 2-3 FT).  Aronson grabbed seven rebounds.  KSC overcame an uncharacteristic 18 turnovers, 12 of which came in the second half.

Schainfeld paced Connecticut College with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals, but was held to 9-of-24 shooting.  Clar (13 pts., 5-8 FG) and Espinosa (4-16 FG, 3-9 3-PT) also reached double-figures for the Camels.  Espinosa grabbed a game-high nine rebounds while adding three assists and two steals, but Conn fell to 1-3 against Little East Conference opponents this season (L 61-60 at home vs. Eastern Connecticut State, L 76-69 at Rhode Island College, W 80-64 vs. Western Connecticut State at St. Joseph) and to 0-3 all-time against the Owls.  KSC took last year's meeting 80-64 in New London against a Camels team that finished 18-7 including 8-2 in the NESCAC and was in play for the conference's No. 1 seed on the final day of the regular season.  Conn entered today shooting 40 percent from three in their last three games including 41 percent while winning the two-game USJ Holiday Tournament, but were limited to just an 8-for-24 showing (33 percent) today.

Today's victory helped the Owls avoid losing three straight for the first time since the 2019-2020 season in which they finished 10-16.  However, KSC's pair of losses in Wisconsin may put their Division III-best streak of 33 consecutive D3hoops.com Top 25 poll appearances in jeopardy.  Regardless, everything the Owls have to play for remains in front of them - including eight home games between January 8 and February 19 after having just three up to this point.

Keene State resumes conference play with a home game against Vermont State University Castleton (1-9, 0-2 LEC) on Wednesday, January 8 at 6:00 p.m.  Connecticut College hosts Emerson College (6-4, 1-1 NEWMAC) on Tuesday (January 7) at 3:00 p.m. before opening league play at home next Friday and Saturday.