KEENE, N.H. – Four players scored in double-figures and seven different players recorded an assist, with three having five or more, as the Keene State College men's basketball team controlled Colby-Sawyer College in an 85-60 season-opening victory on Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Records
- Keene State: 1-0
- Colby-Sawyer: 1-1
How It Happened
The Chargers scored eight points in a row in barely over a minute to run out to an 8-2 lead early, but the Owls returned the favor in a little over two minutes themselves, getting a three and a big fastbreak dunk from
Octavio Brito for his first collegiate points as five of them, and steadily created separation from there. Brito had an impressive Owl debut, totaling 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 3-of-5 from three, to go along with a pair of rebounds. He was one of four in double-figures, led by
Mason Jean Baptiste's 18 points (4-10 3-PT), seven rebounds, and five assists. Double-double machine
Jeff Hunter picked up where he left off with another, finishing with 17 points (7-15 FG), 10 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
KSC eventually built a 28-16 advantage with 6:08 left in the opening half after a run of 14 consecutive points, and the Owl lead was in double-figures for most of the rest of the way.
Jeric Cichon's layup followed by
Ryan Donahue's steal and bucket acted as an answer after Colby-Sawyer drew within 30-21, and Keene State expanded their lead from there, taking a 42-25 edge into the locker room after
Jordan Santos buried a three in the final minute of the half. The Owls shot 47 percent and assisted on nine of 16 made field goals while also controlling the glass 24-13 in the opening frame.
The Chargers came out of the break energized, chopping a 17-point deficit down to eight (46-38) in just 3:44 with the help of two threes by Kevin Cummings and one from Scott Lampron, but the newcomer Brito helped the Owls turn off CSC's push right away after a timeout, burying triples in back-to-back possessions off feeds from Cichon and Santos, respectively, to push the gap back to 52-38 with 15:41 to go. Hunter and Cichon scored down low just a couple minutes later to tack on four more and KSC was right back in the driver seat again, using their speed and quickness to their advantage. The closest Colby-Sawyer came thereafter was 13, and when they did Jean Baptiste drained one of his four threes and was followed by a beautiful alley-oop dunk that saw Hunter finish off
Nate Siow's pass impressively for a 63-45 lead. Keene State pushed the advantage out to as many as 25 over the final eight minutes to ensure a win in their season opener for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. Seventh year head coach-
Ryan Cain now needs just two more victories to reach 100 for his career at Keene State, currently sitting at 98-57. His Owls finished with 21 assists against only eight turnovers in the game, including only one miscue (with 12 helpers on 17 baskets) in the final 20 minutes. Cichon had eight points, four assists, and four steals in that span and a 10-point, 10-rebound, six assist, four steal, and two block night to ensure KSC would have no trouble closing out their first game at Spaulding Gymnasium with fans since the end of the 2019-2020 season.
Lampron led Colby-Sawyer with 14 points on efficient 5-of-9 shooting while making all three of his triples and Cummings had 11 points and five boards. Omar Boone had 11 points, nine rebounds, and two steals, but was held to 3-for-11 shooting and the Chargers as a team were outscored 46-14 in the paint.
Inside the Paint
- Keene State has won 12 consecutive games in the series, seven by double figures (including the last five in a row), after the teams split the first four head-to-head meetings.
- In addition to Brito, Max Bonney-Liles (transfer from Suffolk University), Ryan Donahue (collegiate debut), LJ Hicks (collegiate debut), and Hakan West (collegiate debut) all made their first appearances for the Owls this evening. KSC has nine new faces on this year's roster as they try to go after their sixth LEC regular season title and fifth league tournament crown.
- The Owls got off to a good start on their home floor this season, a place where they are now 65-19 since the start of the 2014-2015 season.
Up Next
- KSC hosts Fitchburg State University (1-1) on Saturday, November 13 for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
- Colby-Sawyer, picked third in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Northern Division, plays at Amherst College on Wednesday, November 17 at 7:00 p.m. They are home just three times before January 8.
