KEENE, N.H.—The Keene State College men's basketball team held firm at No. 6 in the most recent D3hoops.com national rankings released this evening.
On the strength of two blowout wins last week, the Owls (19-1, 11-0 LEC), received 501 points.
The University of St. Joseph (Conn.) continues to hold steady at No. 1, and remain the only undefeated team in the country.
The rest of the top 5 remain the same, though in a slightly different order, as Randolph-Macon (Va.) holds at No. 2, followed by Middlebury at No. 3 and Christopher Newport No. 4. Mount Union, which falls from No. 3 to No. 5 following the Purple Raiders' loss to John Carroll, which moves up from No. 8 to No. 7.
Keene State recorded two road victories last week, starting with an 80-63 win over Plymouth State University on January 25, and an 90-68 win over Rhode Island College on January 28.
Against the Panthers, co-captain Jeff Hunter had 21 points and 20 rebounds, his second 20-20 game of the year and third game this season with at least 20 rebounds. He added yet another double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds against Rhode Island College. For the season, he's averaging 19.2 points, 13.5 rebounds, and three blocks.
Meanwhile, fellow co-captain Octavio Brito poured in 28 points against Plymouth State, the eighth time this year he's scored 25 points or more in a game. Brito needs 199 points to become the 39th player in school history to reach 1,000 points for his career.
The Owls close out their regular season with three of the final five games at home. Eastern Connecticut State University will visit on February 1 for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off. The Cheshire Cats youth jump rope team is scheduled to perform at halftime; tickets can be purchased at keeneowls.com/tickets.
