Box Score KEENE, N.H. – The University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth jumped out to a ten-point lead 3:44 into Sunday's contest and the Keene State College men's basketball team was playing from behind the entire game before eventually suffering their first loss, 86-75 at Spaulding Gymnasium, in the back half of the weekend's home-and-home series between the two teams. KSC had won 68-67 yesterday in North Dartmouth.
Records
- Keene State: 4-1, 4-1 LEC
- UMass-Dartmouth: 5-1, 5-1 LEC
How It Happened
The tables turned in most every way from the first meeting that saw the Owls lead by 13 in the first half and 15 in the second half. Today, KSC never had a lead, trailed 13-3 at the 16:16 mark of the opening half and was never closer than five thereafter while being handed their first loss, just as they did to UMD yesterday. A layup by
Jeff Hunter and a triple from
Jordan Santos a little less than five minutes into the second half had the Owls within that five-point margin at 58-53, but as happened repeatedly on the afternoon, Keene State could not put together all facets of their game enough. UMass-Dartmouth subsequently outscored the Owls 20-6 over the next 7:48 to make it a 19-point game (78-59) with 7:31 remaining, and that was effectively the final deciding blow, as by the time KSC sliced the deficit to nine (84-75), there were only 38 seconds left.
In building the first half advantage, the Corsairs were aided by a 7-for-18 performance from long range – four of which came from freshman Isaac Percy, who scored a career-high 16 points – and took great care of the ball, turning it over just four times. Keene State, meanwhile, struggled mightily from the field, shooting just 13-for-39 (33 percent) overall and 2-for-14 (14 percent) from three. They were able to hang around thanks to a 12-for-14 showing at the free throw line and another big game from Hunter, who had 14 points (5-9 FG) and eight rebounds in the opening 20 minutes and finished with his fourth double-double in five games (26 pts., 10-18 FG, 14 rebounds, four blocks). He went on a personal 6-0 run about halfway through the period to bring the Owls within 19-13, but UMD's Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer scored the next five. Two from the line by
James Anozie at the 8:02 mark made it 29-20, but that was the last time KSC's deficit was under ten until consecutive layups in the final 40 seconds by Hunter and
Mason Jean Baptiste chipped it to 48-40 at halftime.
UMass-Dartmouth had an answer every time the Owls made a push in the second half, as despite shooting 14-for-40 (35 percent) from the floor and making only 1-of-13 from deep (8-of-31 in the game), the makes came at key times. Jean Baptiste's jumper with 16:42 to go once again brought the Owls within six, but Percy and Matt Valles scored back-to-back baskets around a KSC turnover to push the lead right back to ten (58-48). Hunter and Santos' aforementioned 5-0 burst that made it a 58-53 game at the 15:19 mark and
Nate Siow's layup about a minute later that made it 60-55 were quickly nullified by five straight points by Marcus Azor, who finished with 13 points (6-17 FG), 15 rebounds, and some powerful finishes. Ultimately, the Owls made just one of eight shots and turned the ball over seven times, including on four consecutive possessions, while seeing the five-point deficit swell to an insurmountable 19. The Corsairs turned the ball over just seven times total in the game. Sanders-Dyer led UMD with 18 points (7-12 FG), his highest total since November 23, 2019 at the University of Southern Maine when he scored the same number. In addition to Hunter, KSC got 15 points and four rebounds from Anozie and 11 points (3-6 3-PT) from Santos.
Inside the Paint
- UMass-Dartmouth won their third consecutive game at Spaulding Gymnasium. They were just 5-20 in Keene prior the streak.
- Keene State has not found the range this season, shooting 29 percent from three as a team after finishing 6-for-26 (23 percent) today. Yesterday's 9-for-24 effort (37.5 percent) was their season-high from deep. Three-point shooting was also a bugaboo last season, when they finished at 30.6 percent, eighth in the conference.
- The Corsairs outscored KSC 19-10 off turnovers and got 30 points from their bench compared to the Owls' 11.
Up Next
- Keene State's next scheduled game is not until Wednesday, February 24 when they make up a game at Eastern Connecticut State University (2-2) at 7:00 p.m., but continue to check keeneowls.com for any schedule changes in the meantime. Saturday's game at Plymouth State University was postponed.
- UMass-Dartmouth visits Eastern Connecticut on Saturday (February 20) for a 1:00 p.m. start.
