KEENE, N.H. – Octavio Brito posted an efficient 29-point, 11-rebound double-double while Leo Chaikin added a season-high in points and Mitch Shettles tied his season-high as the Keene State College men's basketball team sprinted past the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth 100-90 on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium, locking up their third consecutive outright Little East Conference championship and No. 1 seed in next week's league tournament.

Highlights
Postgame Interview (Coach Enright)
Postgame Interview (Mitch Shettles)

The Owls (20-4, 14-1 LEC) are 45-2 in LEC regular season games in that span and have now beaten the Corsairs (9-15, 6-9 LEC) seven straight times, improving to 23-9 against UMD at Spaulding Gymnasium all-time.  In winning the league regular season for the eighth time since joining the conference in 1997, KSC ensures a home semifinal matchup next Thursday against the winner of the quarterfinal game between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.  UMass-Dartmouth, meanwhile, will enter the final day of the regular season on Saturday with scenarios that include finishing fifth, sixth, or out of the tournament altogether.  They can lock up a spot by beating second-place Western Connecticut State University at home.  However, if they fall and Eastern Connecticut State University wins at Plymouth State University (eliminated from contention), the Warriors would grab the final spot thanks to a season sweep of UMD.

After a 19-point comeback in a loss Saturday at WCSU came up just short, there would be no rally needed on this night as the Owls led wire-to-wire including opening a 12-0 lead in four minutes that saw Shettles bury two threes in the opening 1:38.  The Corsairs answered with a 16-7 push to get back within a possession at the 12:40 mark, but it was the only time they came that close again.  Keene State hit back with the next six points over the ensuing minute to restore the lead to nine, and thanks to an efficient offensive performance, was never substantially threatened as the game went on.  A triple by Mason Jean Baptiste made it 37-28 with 6:22 left until halftime, and another from the corner for Isaac Ogutuga a little over two minutes later made it 42-31.  KSC closed the half on a 9-2 burst to push a six-point lead to 13 (51-38), committing just three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes.

Thanks to 56 percent shooting (18-for-32) after the break, the Owls' lead never fell below double-figures the rest of the way.  Shettles and Nate Siow got to the basket for layups in the opening two minutes to push the advantage to 55-38, and a triple from Brito with 15:04 to go made it 64-46.  After Chaikin scored on consecutive possessions inside to push the lead to 20 for the first time, UMD ran off a 10-0 run in just 2:17 to slice the deficit in half with 11:36 left, but Williams canned a silencing three and Odiase ran out for a flush a minute later to balloon the lead back to 75-58.  Brito and Shettles each connected again from beyond the arc on consecutive trips a few minutes later to make it 87-69, and the Owls were well on their way to posting their fourth consecutive 20-win season.  Shettles matched a season-high with his fifth three with 3:55 to go to make it a 22-point lead before UMass-Dartmouth closed the game with a cosmetic 17-5 run, including 10-1 in the final 2:05, to set the final margin.

Brito's double-double came on 10-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three and 6-of-6 at the free throw line.  Shettles added 19 points (6-13 FG, 5-10 3-PT, 2-2 FT), four rebounds, and two assists, while Chaikin was 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting.  The trio of Brito, Shettles, and Williams combined to shoot 11-for-20 from three-point range on a night KSC finished 13-for-37.  UMass-Dartmouth shot 46 percent themselves and made 11 threes as a team, but was outscored 20-2 on fastbreaks.

Ryan Flauto led the Corsairs with 27 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field – mostly layups around the rim until a three in the final seconds.  Trent Santos (4-7 3-PT, 3-5 FT) added 15 points off the bench.  Camden DiChiara was in double-figures with 10 points but was limited to a 4-for-15 showing from the field and 2-of-8 from three.

Keene State closes the regular season on Saturday (February 22) with a trip to Rhode Island College (14-10, 9-6 LEC) at 3:00 p.m.  The Anchormen, already locked into the No. 3 seed in the conference, lost 79-52 at Eastern Connecticut tonight.  RIC has been missing leading scorer and national leading rebounder Ousmane Kourouma in their last two games – both road blowout losses to WestConn and ECSU – but is 3-6 overall in the LEC since starting 6-0.