KEENE, N.H. – Octavio Brito led five Owls in double-figures with 20 points, and the No. 6 nationally ranked Keene State College men's basketball team shot 55 percent while making 8-of-14 from long range over the final 22 minutes to turn what had been a sluggish start into a 92-66 trouncing of Eastern Connecticut State University in a Little East Conference contest Wednesday night at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Records

• No. 6 Keene State:  20-1, 12-0 LEC
• Eastern Connecticut:  9-12, 6-6 LEC

Postgame Interview (Coach Cain)
Postgame Interview (Jeric Cichon)

How It Happened
The Owls have not gotten off to many slow starts this season, but tonight would qualify, as they fell into a 19-6 deficit nine minutes in – their largest hole at home this season – and did not lead until two Tahmeen Dupree free throws in the final minute in the first half.  However, Jeric Cichon followed with a buzzer-beating three just before the half to put KSC up five, and thanks to their trademark balance, the Owls were mostly a runaway train from there, bulldozing the Warriors to ensure their 13th 20-win season in the Division III era (since 1997) and the fifth under eighth-year head coach Ryan Cain.  Eastern Connecticut never led in the final 20 minutes, and after drawing within 44-42 with 17:51 to go, were outscored 12-2 over the next three minutes to quickly fall behind by double-figures (56-44).  They never got the lead under 10 again.  Consecutive layups from Jeff Hunter and Cichon made it 60-46 at the 11:07 mark, and a triple from Dupree with 8:48 left made it 66-50.  The Warriors had a faint pulse when Jalen Hamblin canned a three to make it a 13-point game (69-56) with 7:14 on the clock, but Mason Jean Baptiste answered with one of his own 17 seconds later, and that told the story of most of the last 25 minutes – all Owls.  Hunter put KSC up 16 off a feed from Nate Siow with 5:58 remaining, and two possessions later an old-fashioned three-point play from Jean Baptiste made it 77-58.  He buried a shot from beyond the arc for good measure a few minutes later to cap off his 16-point night on 6-for-10 shooting (3-for-5 from three), and at that point the lead was 24 (82-58).  It grew to 25 on a trey from Jake D'Auria in the final minutes, and then to the final margin of 26 after a Max Bonney-Liles dunk and Liam Johnson three on consecutive possessions in the final minute.

It was a stark contrast to how the game started, with ECSU opening a 19-6 lead in 11 minutes thanks to an 8-for-11 (73 percent) shooting performance (2-2 3-PT) to start the game.  Jalen Williams had 11 points in that stretch, and had actually outscored Keene State on his own.  The Owls were only 3-for-12 from the field, missed all three tries from long range, both free throws they attempted, and turned the ball over an uncharacteristic four times.  However, KSC snapped out of the malaise as the first half wore on, albeit not quickly initially.  Two Quinton Lott free throws had the Warriors ahead 23-10 over halfway through the period, though the Owls did rattle off nine points in a row to trim their deficit to four (23-19) at the 6:32 mark.  Triples from Tyreice Woods and Hunter Baillargeon helped restore a 29-22 ECSU lead a little over a minute later, and the Warriors still led 31-25 with 4:50 to go after Williams canned two at the charity stripe.  However, Williams was then limited to just two points over the final 24 minutes to finish with 15 after he had 11 in the opening nine minutes, and things went downhill for the visitors from there.  KSC wiped out all of ECSU's early 13-point lead when Cichon tied the game with a layup with 2:21 left before halftime, and then Brito drained a turnaround jumper before Dupree was two of two at the line to put the Owls in front for the first time (37-35) with 51 seconds left until the break.  It seemed the Warriors would get a chance at a final shot and a possible tie or lead after KSC turned it over with 21 seconds left, but thanks to pestering defense the Owls forced ECSU to throw it away.  They capitalized on it, too, as Brito drove the lane and kicked to a wide open Cichon for a triple that put KSC up five and gave them all the momentum heading into the final 20 minutes.  Eastern hung around for the opening three minutes, getting the opening bucket and then as close as two shortly thereafter, but KSC's 9-0 burst that turned a 47-44 game into a double-figure lead proved to be a game-changer.  After a 46 percent shooting performance in the first half, the Owls connected at a 53 percent (19-36) clip in the second.  They improved their three-point percentage markedly in the final 20 minutes, connecting on 7-for-13 (54 percent) after a cold 3-for-11 (27 percent) effort in the first.  Eastern shot 48 percent in the first half and 44 percent in the second, but after a plus-one rebounding edge in the first half were soundly beaten 20-13 on the glass in the second.  The Warriors also committed 12 miscues in the second half to KSC's six, and were overall outscored 22-15 off turnovers and 16-8 on fast breaks.

The Owls' scoring depth and balance was on display on this night, as they put five in double-figures and had 10 score overall.  Brito finished with 20 points (8-18 FG, 3-3 FT), four rebounds, and four steals while Jean Baptiste added three rebounds and two helpers to his 16 points.  Cichon made 7-of-10 from the field to score 15 and Hunter posted a double-double (11 points, 10 rebounds) on just six shots (4-6 FG, 3-3 FT).  Siow rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points while adding six rebounds, six assists, and four steals as KSC outscored Eastern Connecticut 86-47 over the final 30:51.

The Warriors were paced by 15 points apiece from Woods and Williams, though Williams was just 1-for-4 after halftime for two points.  Baillargeon (3-6 FG, 2-4 3-PT) and Lott (2-6 FG, 4-8 FT) added eight points each, but Eastern Connecticut committed 23 turnovers and saw four Owls record multiple steals on the night while suffering their largest loss of the season.
 
Inside the Paint

• Eight different Owls connected from distance in the win as they finished 10-for-24.  Jean Baptiste drained three and seven others made one.
• KSC has recorded double-digit steals in a game 13 times this season.
• Hunter is nine points from moving into the top 15 on the Owls' all-time men's basketball scoring list.  He is already fourth on the all-time rebounding list with 862 (and fourth in boards per game, also).  Tyler Kathan '09 is third with 935.
• Keene State has won nine of the last 12 meetings in the series, including both this year after a 70-58 win in Willimantic in January.  It is the Owls' first regular season sweep of both matchups since the 2007-2008 season.  They had gone 2-1 in each of the last two seasons against the Warriors, but lost in Connecticut in the regular season both times.

Up Next

• The Owls head to Danbury, Conn. for a game with plenty of implications on Saturday (February 4) against Western Connecticut State University (19-1, 11-1 LEC).  Tip-off is at 3:00 p.m.  A win would essentially put KSC up three games in the race for the Little East Conference's top seed with three games to go (and homecourt throughout the tournament), whereas a loss would drop them into a tie – and a currently unbreakable one pending the ensuing results.  Furthermore, both teams are playing for regional ranking purposes, with the first poll being released next Wednesday (February 8).  KSC led by 17 in the first meeting, then trailed by 10 with four minutes left, then came storming back for a 71-68 overtime win over the Wolves in early January.  Saturday will be WestConn's fourth game in a week; they dismantled struggling Rhode Island College 98-59 tonight.
• Eastern Connecticut hosts last place Castleton University (3-16, 0-11 LEC) on the same day (3:00 p.m.).  The Spartans are eliminated from conference tournament contention with a loss.