KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College men's basketball team led 54-49 with 11:39 to go and then scored just six points over the rest of the game as the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth went from behind to cruising to a 76-60 win in Little East Conference action Monday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.  KSC concludes a four-game homestand 2-2 and has lost two of three, shooting 37 percent while averaging 58 points per game in the defeats.

Records

• Keene State:  14-4, 9-2 LEC
• UMass-Dartmouth:  15-2, 7-1 LEC

How It Happened
The Owls appeared to be in decent position to extend their first-place edge in the conference as they took the lead with 14:21 left in the first half and were in front for over 25 of the 40 regulation minutes, but scored only 10 points in the final 14:57 after holding a 50-43 advantage.  Mason Jean Baptiste, who scored a team-leading 16 points on 7-for-17 shooting (2-for-4 from three), provided Keene State that seven-point lead and then put his team up 54-49 with 11:39 to go, but the Owls proceeded to gave up 14 consecutive points to rapidly fall behind by nine (63-54) a little over five minutes later.  Overall, KSC missed 13 of their final 16 shots from the floor, their final three triples, and their last two free throws while also committing eight turnovers in the final 10:10.  John Martins Jr. (two) and Isaac Percy (one) each missed layups when UMass-Dartmouth was down five, giving the Owls multiple chances to extend their lead, but they could not do it.  At one point, KSC committed five miscues in less than two minutes and seven in nine possessions, eventually leading to a Marcus Azor jumper that put UMass-Dartmouth up 55-54 with 8:47 remaining, their first lead since the 14:47 mark of the first half, and they never came close to trailing again.  Azor went to the basket with 6:59 left to put his team ahead by six (60-54), their largest lead of the game to that point, and after KSC missed inside, Jackson Zancan made a three on the Corsairs' next trip as they went up nine.  Jeff Hunter made it 63-56 with 5:45 left with a layup inside and Martins made just one of three at the foul line to keep the Owls in it for the moment, but they scored just four points in the last five minutes.  Azor scored 14 of his game-high 24 points after halftime, 11 in the final 10:03 after a steal and eventual dunk after an initial miss got him going.  He finished 10-of-21 from the floor, 4-of-6 at the foul line, and added eight rebounds, five steals, three assists, and one block.  The Corsairs as a team shot 50 percent after halftime after a 14-for-41 effort in the first half.  UMass-Dartmouth went ahead by double-figures (66-56) for the first time with 4:53 remaining on Azor's steal and transition layup, and that was about it for the Owls on this night.
 
Keene State bounced back from early 5-0 and 9-5 deficits to take their first lead about six minutes in after Nate Siow and Jean Baptiste's layups made it 15-11.  UMD responded by scoring six of the next eight to tie the game, but Jean Baptiste buried a triple for a 20-17 Owl lead, which widened to 23-19 on Hunter's three-point play.  Jordan Santos and Jean Baptiste each sliced to the basket again to make it 31-23 at the 4:56 mark.  At that point, KSC seemed to have it going, shooting 47 percent (14-for-30) while committing only three turnovers and limiting UMD to an 11-for-32 (34 percent) showing from the floor.  However, the Owls as it turns out missed a major chance to seize control in the final minutes of the opening half.  After leading 33-25 at the 3:12 mark they were outscored 9-2 the rest of their way as their lead shrunk to one despite the Corsairs still shooting 34 percent for the half (KSC 43 percent) and 2-for-9 from three-point range. 
 
Keene State seemed to snatch back momentum very quickly in the second half, opening with a 5-0 run in the first 1:03 for a 40-34 lead, but were outscored 42-20 over the rest of the game, which was an eerie repeat of last Wednesday's loss to Plymouth State University, when after leading 48-46 with 10:33 left, they missed 13 of their final 15 shots and committed four turnovers while surrendering an 18-6 finish to the Panthers.
 
Jean Baptiste scored 10 of his points on 4-of-7 shooting in the opening half.  He grabbed four boards overall.  Hunter finished with 13 points, 16 rebounds, and six blocks.  Siow had 13 points (5-10 FG) and Jeric Cichon added 10 (5-9) and seven rebounds, but the Owls shot 39 percent in the game and made only 3-of-13 from deep.  They finished with a 34 percent (11-32 FG), 25 percent (1-4 3-PT), 50 percent (FT) slash line in the second half.  KSC got to the foul line a season-low seven times and made only three.
 
Beyond Azor, Adam Seablom was the only other Corsair who scored in double-figures, finishing with 13 points (5-11 FG, 3-3 FT), six rebounds, and two assists.  They shot 41 percent from the floor in the game, 4-of-15 from three, and 10-of-14 at the foul line.
 
Inside the Paint

• Keene State has lost three straight and six of eight against UMass-Dartmouth after winning seven of the previous eight.  The Owls were 20-5 all-time against the Corsairs at Spaulding Gymnasium, but have now lost their last four here in the series.
• UMass-Dartmouth is now winning percentage points ahead of KSC in the standings and controls their own fate, having played three fewer conference games than the Owls.  Their lone league loss was at Eastern Connecticut State University (75-73).
• KSC had only nine assists and committed 17 turnovers in tonight's game.  They have had more miscues than helpers in four of the last five games.

Up Next

• The Owls go to Eastern (11-7, 6-4 LEC) on Wednesday (February 2) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.  KSC beat the Warriors 89-74 last week at home, but have one regular season win at Geissler Gymnasium since the 2011-2012 season.
• UMass-Dartmouth travels to the University of Massachusetts-Boston (9-9, 5-5 LEC) on the same night (7:30 p.m.).