Owls Win 80-70 to Improve to 10-0 in LEC

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Octavio Brito moved within nine points of reaching 2,000 for his career and the nationally No. 24 ranked Keene State College men's basketball team shot 60 percent overall in the final 15:40 as they went on to post an 80-70 Little East Conference victory over Plymouth State University on Wednesday night at Foley Gymnasium.

Unlike several conference games this season for the Owls (16-3, 10-0 LEC), the outcome of this one was in doubt for most of the time, as the Panthers (9-9, 3-7 LEC) led 35-33 at halftime and 41-36 with 17:12 to go.  KSC assumed control by outscoring the home team 44-29 over the final 15:40, shooting 50 percent from the field (12-for-20) and from three (7-for-14) while also making 13-of-15 from the free throw line.  Brito had 11 points in that span, finishing with 26 points (7-14 FG, 4-9 3-PT, 8-9 FT), 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three blocks for his third consecutive double-double.  In the last three games, he has combined for 76 points and 38 rebounds on 28-for-51 (55 percent) from the field.

Brito is approaching another significant career milestone: now just nine points away from becoming the third player in program history to reach 2,000 career points.  Only Ty Nichols (2,316 from 2015-2019) and Al Hicks (2,023 from 1972-1976) have previously reached the mark.

In addition to Brito, Mason Jean Baptiste added 15 points (5-11 FG, 4-10 3-PT) and seven rebounds while Spencer Aronson (3-7 3-PT, 4-4 FT) and Mitch Shettles (6-8 FG, 1-3 3-PT) each had 13 points.  The Owls are 6-1 when Shettles scores in double-digits this season.

KSC got off to a very slow shooting start on the night, as after opening a 6-2 lead on two Aronson threes in the opening 1:16, found themselves trailing for most of the first half including by as many as nine (18-9) after watching the Panthers go on a 16-5 early run.  PSU led by seven twice late in the first half before a three by Brito and jumper by Jean Baptiste in the final 1:15 trimmed the deficit to two (35-33) at the break.  The Owls weathered a 9-for-27 mark from the field (33 percent) over a 16:47 stretch, a period of time Plymouth outscored the Owls 33-22 thanks to 52 percent shooting themselves.  Playing his first game since January 16 when he played three minutes, Elijah Swanson had 10 points in that span while Shettles, Brito, and Jean Baptiste had 20 of KSC's points to keep the Owls well within reach despite a 4-for-21 mark from three (19 percent).

Plymouth maintained a five-point advantage (41-36) following a steal by Ivan Yen and layup from Kevin Henry less than three minutes into the second half, but the Owls ran off a 10-0 run in 2:21 to take a five-point lead of their own.  KSC never trailed again, though Plymouth twice got within one point.  Joshua Williams answered with clutch threes in both instances, and Jean Baptiste added one of his team-high tying four with 8:37 to go to make it 59-52.  Four free throws by Brito and two treys by Aronson 32 seconds apart in the ensuing minutes pushed the Owls' lead to a game-high 69-56 with 5:35 on the clock.  It was 71-58 after Shettles' layup a little more than a minute later before the Panthers made a final push, getting within five thanks to threes by Torran Bosworth and Ivan Yen at the 2:34 mark.  However, Brito was fouled and made a pair at the line on the Owls' next possession and Leo Chaikin scored inside with 1:20 left to make it 75-66.  Aronson went 4-for-4 at the line in the final minute to lock up KSC's tenth conference victory this season, all by double-digits.  They had previously dismantled Plymouth 93-63 at Spaulding Gymnasium in mid-December before the holiday break.  The Owls have won six straight in the series, all by 10 or more, and 19 of the last 23.

"Credit to Plymouth State – they executed their game plan and gave us tough action to guard while making difficult shots at the end of the shot clock all night," said KSC head coach Steve Enright.  "Offensively, we had some trouble generating two-point field goal attempts, particularly in the first half.  Octavio Brito was able to steady us when we were teetering and I thought Josh Williams and Mitch Shettles made key plays off the bench in the second half to help us get the win."

Keene State's victory combined with Rhode Island College seeing a 15-point second half lead vanish in an 83-81 road loss at the University of Southern Maine tonight leaves the Owls with a two-game lead (and current tiebreaker over RIC) for the top spot in the conference.  Western Connecticut State University (7-3 LEC) and Eastern Connecticut State University (5-6 LEC) currently occupy the third and fourth spots, respectively, which would earn first round conference tournament home games while the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get byes into the semifinals.  Plymouth is currently in seventh and has work to do to make the tournament (the top six qualify), trailing sixth-place University of Southern Maine by a half game and having lost to them in the first meeting.

Kevin Henry paced Plymouth with 20 points (9-15 FG, 1-1 3-PT), seven rebounds and three steals while Swanson added 17 points (6-14 FG, 2-6 3-PT, 3-4 FT), three assists and two rebounds.  Yen (4-9 FG, 3-5 3-PT) chipped in 12 points and Bosworth (4-11 FG, 2-7 3-PT) 10, but the Panthers lost their fourth straight and fell to 9-3 at home.

The Owls have their second league bye this weekend before traveling to take on Vermont State University Castleton (3-14, 2-7 LEC) next Tuesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m.  Plymouth State visits the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (5-13, 2-7 LEC) for an important conference game this Saturday (February 1) at 3:00 p.m.   Castleton and UMass-Dartmouth are currently tied at the bottom of the LEC standings.