CASTLETON, Vt. – Jeff Hunter scored 21 points while making 10-of-13 shots and pulled down 11 rebounds as the Keene State College men's basketball team overcame an otherwise rocky offensive performance by holding Castleton University to a 33 percent effort from the floor in a 62-57 victory in Little East Conference action Wednesday night at Glenbrook Gymnasium.

Records

• Keene State:  11-2, 6-0 LEC
• Castleton:  5-10, 0-6 LEC

How It Happened
The Owls got off to the start they were looking for, opening up a 10-1 lead in less than six minutes and a 14-3 lead by the 12:59 mark of the first half, but they then had to use their defense after that to up their league record to 6-0.  KSC's lead was five (33-28) at the break and stretched to nine twice in the second half, but because the Owls made just 10-of-30 from the field (33 percent) in the final 20 minutes, the Spartans more than hung around, getting within one (46-45) with 7:09 left after scoring six in a row, four from Alex Blackmore.  Mason Jean Baptiste connected from distance twice in the next two minutes to extend Keene State's lead to 52-47 before Hunter's layup with 3:30 left made it a seven-point edge.  The Owl big man scored twice more, including a flush, on consecutive possessions late to make it a 58-49 lead with 1:05 left, but Castleton still got within one possession again on Johnny Torrence's three with 11 seconds remaining before Jean Baptiste connected twice more from the free throw line to finally salt the game away.  He made all four in the final 18 seconds, and KSC as a team made all of the season-low eight they took from the charity stripe in the game.  They have been at the free throw line only 22 times total in the last two games that they won by a total of six points.  The Owls' 62-point output tonight was 19 lower than they had scored in any previous game this season (81).  Hunter made five of his eight shots in the second half, where he scored 10 of his 21, and it was critical he did as the rest of the team made just 5-of-22 (23 percent).  Octavio Brito finished with 12 points, connecting on 4-of-9 from distance, and three rebounds.  Jean Baptiste added 10 points.  Nate Siow finished with six points and five assists, and James Anozie six points and eight rebounds as KSC assisted on 17 of their 22 made field goals.  Nobody on Castleton's starting five, and nobody that took more than four shots for the Spartans, shot better than 33 percent.  Torrence scored a team-leading 12 but needed 12 shots (3-12) to reach that total.  Blackmore (5-16 FG) and John Walsh (2-3 FG, 5-5 FT) each added 10.  Castleton turned the ball over only eight times in the game, but were held to their second lowest field goal percentage this season, better than only a 25 percent showing in a 75-47 home loss to Western Connecticut State University.

In Keene State's strong start, which wound up proving to be the difference in the game as it turns out, Hunter scored nine points as they made five of their initial 10 shots as a team in the 14-3 burst.  Castleton made just one of their first 12 tries and seemed to be headed to a lopsided seventh consecutive loss, but the final 12:43 of the opening first half belonged more to the home team, as behind a balanced scoring effort, they made 10-of-19 from the floor in that span and outscored the Owls 25-19.  KSC closed the half making seven of their final 18 shots (39 percent) and 3-of-12 from three-point range.  They never really got untracked in a second half that turned into their second lowest-scoring 20 minutes of their season, either, but behind Hunter, timely baskets, and their defense, it proved to be enough.  The 33 percent effort Keene State held the Spartans to was the second best defensive performance of the season (by field goal percentage allowed).

Inside the Paint

• Hunter has four double-doubles in his last five games, where he is shooting an eye-catching 71 percent in that span, and six on the season.  The Owl standout big man is also five of his last 11 from three-point range.
• Despite the five-point margin and KSC's overall cold-shooting offense, the Spartans never had the ball with a chance to take the lead in the game except for after they won the jump ball.  The Owls' strong start helped them lead by as many as 11.
• Keene State has made 29-of-94 (31 percent) from three-point range after they shot 34 percent from deep in the opening 10 games of the season (36 percent in the first nine games).
• KSC is 9-0 all-time against Castleton and 5-0 against them as a league opponent, though the last two wins in Vermont are by seven points total.  Anozie made a buzzer-beater to help the Owls escape 58-56 in their last visit in December of 2019.
• Keene State holds a half-game lead over Eastern Connecticut State University (6-1 LEC) and a game-and-a-half lead over the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (4-1 LEC) for the top spot in the conference standings.  They play both of those teams at home between January 24 and 31.

Up Next

• The Owls finish a three-game road week with a visit to the University of Southern Maine (6-7, 1-3 LEC) on Saturday, January 22.  Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m.  KSC won the first meeting this season 101-53 in Keene, but is 1-4 in their last five visits to Gorham after winning 14 of the first 18.
• Castleton hosts Rhode Island College (10-4, 3-3 LEC) on the same day at 5:00 p.m.  The Anchormen fell at home in overtime to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (80-73) this evening.