KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College men's basketball team missed 13 of their last 15 shots and committed four turnovers in the final 8:23 of Wednesday night's Little East Conference game while watching Plymouth State University roll to a 68-56 win by closing on an 18-6 run at Spaulding Gymnasium to snap a four-game losing streak and avenge an 86-62 rout earlier this season.
Records
- Keene State: 13-3, 8-1 LEC
- Plymouth State: 8-8, 3-4 LEC
How It Happened
Nate Siow got to the basket with 8:24 left to tie what had been a back-and-forth game at 50, but the Owls then could not convert on offense for most of the remainder of the game, making just two field goals (one three) and one free throw the rest of the way as Plymouth State's Yansel Reyes scored nine points – three more than KSC's entire team – in that stretch. The Panthers made five of their final eight shots and overall shot 50 percent (12-for-24) in the second half, outscoring and outplaying Keene State 36-24 after the teams played to a 32-32 tie at the break. In the final 20 minutes, the Owls shot 9-for-33 overall, a frigid 27 percent, made 3-of-12 (25 percent) from three and 3-of-6 at the foul line. They had only two fewer turnovers than made field goals and only three assists. The Panthers finished with seven assists and just four miscues in the second half, getting to the basket with relative ease and pulling away despite going 10-for-19 (53 percent) at the foul line and 2-of-6 from three-point range. Reyes finished with 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting, 13 of which came in the second half. Devin Cooper (6-7 FG) and Kyler Bosse (3-7 FG, 6-7 FT) each added 13 apiece for PSU, who had lost four straight including a 73-68 decision at home against the University of Southern Maine on Monday night when they could not hold a 62-51 lead in the final 9:21, being outscored 22-6 the rest of the way.
For Keene State, it was a stunning contrast from the first matchup between the teams in early December when the Owls dismantled the Panthers with a 59-33 second half in which they not only scored more points in that half than they did in the entire game tonight, but also shot a remarkable 70 percent (21-for-30) from the field. They dished out 14 assists in that half alone against just six turnovers.
Mason Jean Baptiste scored 24 points on 6-of-11 shooting from three-point range, while
Jeff Hunter and
Jeric Cichon each had double-doubles. Tonight was a vastly different story. Jean Baptiste scored 16 points, sharing the team lead with Siow (6-12 FG), but needed 17 shots to reach that total. Hunter finished with 11 points on 5-for-12 shooting, eight rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and three steals but KSC lost for the first time at home this season.
Plymouth used a quick 7-2 burst out of the locker room to take their biggest lead of the game to that point (39-34) on a triple by Dante Rivera and layup from Cooper, but the Owls seemed to regain traction by answering with an 8-0 burst in only 2:19 to go up three after triples by Hunter and Cichon and a layup by
Octavio Brito with 15:44 remaining. A three-point play by Jean Baptiste at the 10:33 mark still had KSC ahead 48-46 and the Owls got the ball back with that lead, but could not score, and Plymouth went back in front (49-48) with 9:19 left on Reyes' jumper and never trailed again. After Siow tied the game at 50, Giorgi Tsiklauri went right to the basket on the other side of the floor before Kevin Henry and Reyes did the same in the ensuing minutes for a 57-50 lead, the latter of which came on a three-point play after Keene State turned the ball over. The Owls had no answers from there and never made any dent in the deficit, scoring one point in seven crunch time minutes in the second half as Plymouth's defense, which entered eighth in the nine-team conference in field goal percentage defense, completely stymied their offense.
The Owls could not take advantage of a strong start, as they raced out to a 10-2 lead in less than four minutes on triples from Brito and Jean Baptiste. PSU got within 12-9 with 14:24 to go in the first half, but was on their heels for most of the half, falling behind 21-13 at the 11:52 mark after two Siow free throws. They did not take their first lead of the game until two free throws by Bosse at the 3:45 mark made it 27-25. Plymouth used an 19-8 run in 11:19 of game time in the first half to go from down eight to up three, perhaps foreshadowing what would happen later, and they only shot 5-for-18 from the floor in that span. KSC missed 11 of their 15 shots and committed six turnovers while seeing their lead go away before Jean Baptiste tied the game with a triple in the final seconds of the half.
Inside the Paint
- Siow has 34 points on 12-for-23 shooting over the past two games.
- Keene State's 34.9 percent shooting performance marked a new season-low. The other, a 36.7 percent showing against Castleton University, came one week ago.
- After having more assists than turnovers in 12 of their first 13 games, the Owls have now had more turnovers than assists in each of their past three games.
Up Next
- Keene State has a quicker turnaround than expected, now hosting Rhode Island College (12-5, 5-3 LEC) on Friday (January 28) at 6:30 p.m. in the third of four consecutive home games. The game was moved up a day due to the anticipated winter weather. KSC blew out the Anchormen 99-79 on December 11 in Providence.
- Plymouth State goes to the University of Massachusetts-Boston (8-9, 4-5 LEC) on the same day (5:30 p.m.).
