KEENE, N.H. – Sophomore Raphel Laurent scored a game-high 25 points on 9-of-13 shooting including 4-of-6 from three-point range as the University of Massachusetts-Boston led for nearly 30 of the 40 minutes in a stunning 74-69 victory over the Keene State College men's basketball team in Little East Conference action at Spaulding Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

It is only the fourth time in 33 tries that the Beacons (4-5, 2-0 LEC) have won in Keene and the first since February 3, 2007.  They had lost 18 straight at Spaulding Gymnasium by an average of 18.1 points per game, including the last three by a combined 97 points.

Foul trouble played a part for both teams – as Leo Chaikin, who finished with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, 7-of-7 at the free throw line, and five rebounds – was limited to less than five minutes in the first half with two fouls.  Laurent, who had 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting including 3-of-4 from three in the opening 12 minutes alone, and Cameron Perkins each picked up three first half fouls – but KSC could not take advantage.  Laurent's third came with 8:18 to go with the Beacons leading 21-20, and the visitors actually extended their lead to four (33-29) at the break as KSC (3-5, 1-1 LEC) had only two made field goals in that span, one of which was a Mitch Shettles jumper with 38 seconds left to bring the Owls within two.  But Steven Cordero, who scored six points in the final 1:55, scored inside with nine seconds left to answer.  Boston scored just two points in the first five minutes Laurent was out of the game and two Jordan Cooper free throws gave the Owls a 26-23 lead at the 3:48 mark, but KSC was then outscored 10-3 over the remainder of the half.

The Owls had nine assists on 16 baskets and outrebounded the Beacons 18-10 in the second half but never led – and never slowed down UMB's offense, who got a basket every time they needed one – particularly Laurent and Perkins, who scored 12 points each on 8-of-13 shooting in the final 20 minutes.  Shettles brought the Owls within one at 37-36 with 17:35 left and had the ball with a chance for the lead on the next trip, but turned the ball over and Laurent hit a three.  That sparked a 7-0 run in only 1:03 as UMB suddenly went up 44-36 with 15:40 left.  Two Leo Chaikin free throws had the Owls back within four (48-44) at the 11:48 mark, but Connor Walden – who had nine second half points off the bench – responded with a layup 15 seconds later.  Denis Wainaina electrified the crowd by crushing down an alley-oop feed from Allyn Wright with 10:32 on the clock to make it 51-46, but Walden drained a three 16 seconds later to kick off a 13-4 run that gave the Beacons their largest lead of the game (64-50) with 7:04 to go.

Keene State ripped off an 11-0 run in a little over two minutes to make it a fight to the finish, as Wainaina's flush made it 64-61 with 4:21 remaining, but ultimately a lack of defensive answers doomed them as UMass-Boston shot 57 percent (16-for-28) from the field in the second half.  Davon Sanders canned a big jumper with 3:45 left after the media timeout to restore a five-point lead for the visitors and the Owls then came up empty on their next three possessions.  Perkins and Chaikin traded a pair of free throw makes and Sanders turned the ball over with 1:46 left in a 68-63 game, but Shettles could not connect from three.  Wainaina blocked Laurent's layup out of bounds with just under a minute to go, but Perkins made a dagger three from 50 seconds left to give the Beacons a 71-63 lead.  The Owls were never within one possession again, only making it a four-point game with Shettles' three with nine seconds to go.

KSC fell to 2-3 at home, and continues to search for momentum, having dropped two of three by a combined eight points since a win over nationally-ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute on November 22.  The Owls led Tufts University for nearly 33 of the 40 minutes and held a late six-point advantage last Sunday but fell by three, and today could not slow down the Beacons, who had opened their league slate on Wednesday with a 77-74 home win over the University of Southern Maine while the Owls dismantled Vermont State University Castleton 87-65.  The three home losses at Spaulding Gymnasium are the most since going 5-7 in the 2019-2020 season.

Laurent (9-13 FG, 4-6 3-PT, 3-5 FT) paced the Beacons with 25 points while Perkins (4-10 FG, 1-2 3-PT, 3-4 FT) added 12 points.  Sanders (4-11 FG, 1-3 3-PT, 2-3 FT) and Walden (5-9 FG, 1-3 3-PT) each added 11.

Beyond Chaikin, Shettles finished with 18 points on 6-of-15 shooting, 4-of-11 from three.  Cooper had 12 points (4-14 FG, 4-4 FT), eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals, while Wainaina (5-8 FG) had 10 points, but the Owls got only three points from their bench and were minus-17 in points from reserves.  The home team was also only 5-for-25 (20 percent) from three-point range.  In their five losses this season, they are 37-for-120 (30.8 percent) on the long ball.

KSC, who suffered only their 10th loss in 62 all-time meetings, had eliminated the Beacons 95-75 last season in the Little East semifinals en route to their league record fourth consecutive championship.

The Owls will travel to face Hamilton College (2-6) next Saturday (December 13) at 1:00 p.m.  The Continentals have lost five straight games entering a Tuesday game at Utica University, including scoring only 43 points in a 20-point loss at Marymount University (Va.) today.