ABERDEEN, S.D. – Jeff Hunter finished with 20 points, a Small College Basketball Champions classic record 21 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, but it was not enough as the No. 4 Keene State College men's basketball team trailed for the final 33 minutes in an 87-71 loss to Stockton University on Friday afternoon at Wachs Arena on the campus of Northern State University.  It was the opening game of the 2023 Small College Basketball Champions Classic, a relatively new early season tournament that features four NCAA Division II and four NCAA Division III teams.

Records

• No. 4 Keene State:  1-1
• Stockton:  2-1

How It Happened
The Owls started fast, opening a 10-4 lead in less than three minutes, but the Ospreys steadily took over from there and KSC never had enough answers, getting outscored 42-30 in the paint and 20-6 off turnovers.  Stockton erased the Owls' six-point lead to tie it at 12 in a little over three minutes, and took their own five point lead at the 11:25 mark of the first half after Tayvon Gaither's layup.  KSC got within 17-16 at the 10:42 mark before giving up 10 consecutive points in 3:19 to fall behind by double-digits (27-16).  From there, the Owls struggled to string much together, as the closest they came for the remainder of the half was seven on a three by Jeff Hunter with 1:09 to go that made it 43-36.  That would be what the score was heading into the locker rooms.  Stockton built their lead off the back of a 22-11 rebounding advantage and turning the ball over only three times.  KSC shot 54 percent in the opening 20 minutes, but allowed eight offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 10 times.

Keene State fixed the rebounding disparity in the second half (outrebounding Stockton 24-21 including eight offensive boards), but shot an ice cold 28 percent (10-for-36) and 2-for-15 from three-point range as they never made a significant push.  The closest the Owls got was six with 17:40 left after a triple and two free throws from Mason Jean Baptiste.  As soon as they did, the Ospreys got a triple from DJ Campbell and ran off nine straight points in 1:43 to take a 57-42 lead.  KSC missed a three and turned the ball over twice in that span.  The lead grew as big as 18 (62-44) on a three-point play from Christian Armstrong-Thomas with 14:06 to go.  The Owls answered with a 10-1 run to slice the lead in half with 10:14 left, making it 63-54 on a bucket and free throw from Wesley Odiase, but missed a jumper and turned the ball over on the next two trips to get even closer before Gaither made a jumper to push the lead back into double digits.  A three from Diante Miles with 8:20 remaining had Stockton's lead back to 70-54, and that was the story of a frustrating afternoon for the Owls, who were never closer than 10 again.  A three-point play by Hunter with 5:50 to go made it 72-61, but they misfired on a long range attempt on the following possession, and were then down 13 after Gaither scored again at the 4:54 mark.  Tahmeen Dupree converted another three-point play 11 seconds later and made the free throw to make it 74-64, and the Owls had the ball with a chance to make it more interesting, but turned it over and fouled, giving Miles to free throws, which me made.  Leading 78-67 with 3:16 left, Stockton made nine of 10 free throws down the stretch to pull even further away.  KSC missed their final six shots from the field, and was only 2-for-15 (13 percent) from three in the second half.  They shot 39 percent overall from the field in the game, and 14-for-22 (64 percent) at the foul line.

"We were tested today by a very good 2023 Sweet 16 team in Stockton and we came up short, but will learn from our mistakes," said KSC acting head coach David Hastings.  "We will take our weaknesses that were exposed – turnovers, shot decisions, and physical toughness – and work to get better.  Hopefully tomorrow we will find greater success."

Hunter made 7-of-13 from the field and all five free throws en route to his team-high 20 points and 21 rebounds (seven offensive).  Mason Jean Baptiste was the only other Owl in double figures, scoring 13 (4-11 FG).  Tahmeen Dupree finished with nine (3-7 FG, 3-4 FT) and three others had eight.

Stockton had four double-figure scorers, paced by 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and six rebounds from Gaither.  Campbell finished with 19 points (6-14 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 6-6 FT), six rebounds, and five steals, while Miles had 13 points (4-7 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 3-4 FT) and Martin Anguelov 11 points (4-8 FG, 1-1 3-PT, 2-2 FT).  The Ospreys made 22-of-30 at the foul line, including 16-of-21 in the final 20 minutes.

Inside the Paint

• The national Division III leader in double-doubles a season ago, Hunter has two in two games to start 2023-2024.  He has also made 13-of-20 shots (60 percent) in those contests.
• The Owls are 17-for-70 (24 percent; 5-17, 5-26, 7-27 today) from three combined in their last three losses dating back to last season.
• Stockton has won two of three all-time meetings, winning two neutral site games (the other an 82-77 final at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore in January of 2011).  KSC won an NCAA tournament first round road game over the Ospreys (72-71) in overtime on March 4, 2016.
• Stockton was receiving votes in the D3hoops.com preseason Top 25 poll.

Up Next

• Keene State takes on the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (3-0) tomorrow (Saturday, November 18) at 3:30 p.m. ET.  The Pioneers defeated Saint John's University (Minn.) 80-78 in their first tournament action later in the day.
• Stockton plays Saint John's (0-2) at 1:00 p.m. ET tomorrow.