KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore guard
Octavio Brito poured in a career-high tying 32 points – making seven of 12 three-point attempts in the process – and
Jeff Hunter added his fifth consecutive double-double as the 14th-ranked Keene State College men's basketball team controlled Albertus Magnus College throughout the second half in an 82-71 non-conference victory on Tuesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Records
- No. 14 Keene State: 7-0
- Albertus Magnus: 0-4
Postgame Interview (Coach Cain)
Postgame Interview (Octavio Brito)
How It Happened
Fresh off appearing in the initial D3hoops.com national top 25 poll released just yesterday, the Owls started strong and then shook out of a late first half lull with a buzzer-beater, taking command quicky out of the second half locker room as they posted their sixth double-digit win in seven outings this season. Brito poured in 15 of his points on 5-of-7 long-range shooting in the opening half, including a big momentum-changing triple at the buzzer after
Mike Carothers' pestering defense forced a turnover from Tazhon Daniels on the other end. The Lincoln, R.I. product had set a career-best scoring mark in KSC's home opener against Rutgers University-Newark, but it did not take him long to match it, as he did so on this night while also adding seven rebounds. In three home games this year, Brito has a six-three game, a seven-three game, and has scored 87 points while shooting 60 percent.
KSC carried a 43-39 edge into the locker room partly in thanks to Brito, rebounding a bit after seeing Albertus Magnus erase a 17-point first half deficit and take a 37-36 lead with 1:45 left on a jumper by Terry Dawkins that culminated a burst of nine consecutive Falcon points. A layup by Hunter put the Owls back up one (40-39) in the final minute, and Keene State then ruined Albertus' hopes for taking the final shot as Carothers hounded Daniels to force a turnover, then passed to Brito just in the nick of time, who connected from well-beyond the line at a much-needed time. The Owls had rebounded from a very early 5-0 deficit to dominate Albertus for the better part of 10 straight first half minutes, outscoring the visitors 33-12 while making 11-of-14 shots from the field and forcing nine Falcon turnovers. However, after finding themselves down 32-15 following a
Spencer Aronson jumper with 8:53 left in the half, Albertus Magnus battled back for a 37-36 edge with a 22-4 run where they made 9-of-15 from the floor and KSC only 1-of-11. The teams traded the lead three times thereafter, but Hunter and Brito's effort in the final minute wrestled back just enough momentum for the Owls headed into halftime.
The Owls forced two turnovers and two missed jumpers in the opening two minutes of the second half, hitting the Falcons with a quick 5-0 burst including yet another triple from Brito as they went up 50-39, and from there they kept AMC comfortably at a distance for most of the half from there. The closest the Falcons came was six (50-44) on a three by Jacqual Gertrude with 17:19 left, but KSC put up 14 of the next 18 points in a 3:42 span with Brito scoring eight including the last five (and a three-point play) for a 64-48 edge with 13:12 remaining. A Hunter bucket a minute later kept the Owls up 14, and
Jeric Cichon's paint jumper at the 10:51 mark made it 70-55. Albertus got as close as eight (72-64) after that on two scores from Jeyson Slade and a free throw for Robby Simmons, but KSC overall clamped down late, forcing the visitors to miss nine of their final 11 shots from the floor in the final eight minutes. One of the makes in that span was a cosmetic basket with 11 seconds left that set the 82-71 final. Once the Owls' lead was trimmed to right, it was brief, as Cichon answered with a hoop and Aronson connected on what was likely a dagger triple with 4:58 left that made it 77-64. Hunter made it a 15-point game again with 3:44 on the clock, and the Owls were well on their way to 7-0 from there, their best start since beginning 8-0 in the 2014-2015 season.
Brito shot 11-for-20 from the floor in his 32-point effort. Hunter added 19 points (7-13 FG), 13 rebounds, and two steals to move within 13 points of becoming the 38th Owl to join the school's 1,000 point club. He is shooting 72 percent from the floor on the season.
Mason Jean Baptiste chipped in 11 points and
Jeric Cichon (2-4 FG) and Aronson (3-6 FG) each had eight.
Terry Dawkins and Slade finished with 12 for Albertus Magnus, who remains winless. Their 11-point loss is the second most lopsided behind an 86-68 loss at Division I Quinnipiac University. The Falcons' other two defeats came by a combined six points against Amherst College and Mitchell College.
Inside the Paint
- The Owls were outrebounded 43-36, but were minus-12 in the opening half before winning the battle on the glass 22-17 in the second, helping them pull away again.
- KSC was 10-of-25 from three-point range and Albertus 2-of-12, with the Owls holding a 30-6 edge in points from behind the arc. On the season thus far, Keene State is shooting 39 percent from three (a four percentage point improvement over last year) and holding their opponents to a 34 percent mark.
- Hunter was named the USBWA Men's National Player of the Week for the second straight Tuesday earlier in the day.
- KSC has won three of five all-time meetings and snapped a two-game skid (by five points total) in the series. Albertus Magnus has two double-digit losses at Spaulding Gymnasium in three trips.
Up Next
- The Owls open Little East Conference play with a visit to the University of Southern Maine (5-1) on Saturday, December 3 for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off. It will be the Huskies' first game against a team not from the state of Maine on the season. USM ends an eight-day break with a road game against the University of Maine-Farmington Wednesday night. They have won two straight over the University of Maine-Presque Isle (72-70) and Bates College (73-64) since their lone loss to Bowdoin College (75-57) on November 17.
- Albertus Magnus returns home to take on Emmanuel College (Mass.) in their GNAC opener on the same day at 3:00 p.m.
