MIDDLEBURY, Vt. –
Jordan Cooper remains sizzling, and on Martin Luther King Day Monday, he might have authored his best performance so far in his first season with the Keene State College men's basketball team. The junior transfer poured in a career-high 38 points, including surpassing 1,000 for his collegiate career, as the Owls picked up an 89-87 road victory over Middlebury College in non-conference action at Pepin Gymnasium.
Cooper's line included a 14-for-25 mark from the field and 9-of-11 at the foul line as KSC (8-8) moved to the .500 mark for the first time on the season after an 0-3 start. He scored a whopping 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting to go along with grabbing five boards in the second half alone, helping the Owls rebound from a 12-point first half deficit to lead by as many as eight in the second half. Down one with a little over four minutes to go, Cooper was vital down the stretch and took over, helping spur what was essentially a game-deciding 16-6 burst over a 3:34 span that took the clock to under a minute to go and gave KSC an 84-76 lead. The Owls made six of seven shots from the field in that span and held Middlebury (6-10) to just 1-for-6 and forced a pair of turnovers. Perhaps one of the biggest plays of the night came after he lunged to grab his own free throw miss with 1:37 to go, corralled the ball, and spun past three Panther defenders for a layup to give KSC a 79-74 edge late.
Liam Johnston then got his hand in a passing lane to intercept Sawyer Ramey's behind-the-back pass on Middlebury's next possession and fed the ball back to
Leo Chaikin, who finished with 17 points (5-11 FG, 7-9 FT) and nine rebounds, for a layup that made it a seven-point lead.
Ryan Blakey and Chaikin's pressure in the backcourt caused another turnover for the home team with 50 seconds left and allowed Blakey to set up Cooper on an alley-oop for an exclamation point to his and KSC's night with 41.3 left as they went up 84-76. Dominick Ducree made two late threes to keep some form of pressure on the Owls, but Blakey went 2-for-2 at the free throw line with 20 ticks remaining to make it 87-82 and Johnston did the same with 2.1 on the clock before Ducree tossed in a three at the buzzer to set the final score.
KSC trailed 37-35 at the break as Middlebury outscored the Owls 18-3 from beyond the three-point line in the opening 20 minutes with Kuba Cwalina shooting 3-of-6 from the arc, but after allowing the opening points of the second half, went on a 19-9 burst over the next 5:50 to play from in front, taking a 54-48 lead with 13:47 left. The Owls were 6-for-10 from the field and 7-for-7 from the line in that span, and held Middlebury to 3-of-10. Cooper, Chaikin, and Blakey combined for all but two points in that span, and were ultimately the keys to victory for KSC on this night – scoring 47 of the 54 second half points. Turnovers were not much of a factor in the game for much of it, with the teams combining for just 17 (KSC seven in total), but the Owls forced seven Panther turnovers in the second half alone to build up a 10-1 edge in the stanza on points off miscues while also controlling the paint 26-18 to negate a 13-for-34 effort from three by the home team despite their 3-for-14 mark. Keene State also shot over 81 percent at the free throw line, going 30-of-37 including 20-of-25 over the final 20 minutes. It marked a season-high in free throws made and attempted.
Cooper has gotten to the line 52 times over the last eight games in which he has been on a tear, averaging 26.5 points per game on 47.5 percent shooting from the field (22-for-50 from three). He has scored at least 20 points in every game in that span, grabbed 54 rebounds while adding 16 assists and 16 steals. For context, Division III's current leading scorer Wesley McIntire of Vermont State University-Lyndon is averaging 26.6 and Reem Welch of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh sits at 26.1 per game in second. Simply put, Cooper at his peak makes the Owls – who are now 8-5 over their last 13 games after consecutive road victories dating back to last Wednesday's 63-59 win at Western Connecticut State University – a dangerous team.
"Congratulations to
Jordan Cooper on his 1,000th point as a college player – we needed all 38 of them today," said KSC head coach
Steven Enright. "
Ryan Blakey also provided a big second half spark and made some timely plays tonight."
Cooper, who played for Enright at Bridgewater College (Va.) in his rookie season and was named Old Dominion Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2023-2024, now has 1,014 collegiate points – 674 with the Eagles and now 340 for the Owls. His 38 points and 10 rebounds also marked his first double-double of the season.
KSC edged Middlebury on the glass 46-42 and committed a season-low seven turnovers. The Panthers were led by 21 points (7-15 FG, 6-7 FT) and seven boards by Ian Murray. Edward Witherington added 16 points (6-11 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 2-3 FT) and 10 rebounds while Ducree was 5-for-12 from deep and had 17 off the bench, but the hosts lost their sixth straight and second straight in similar fashion after then 12th-ranked Tufts University pulled away late in the second half on their home court to beat Middlebury this past Saturday.
The Owls have now won three straight in the series and four of five to take a 9-8 lead. They have also won in each of their past four trips to Middlebury.
After five losses by five points or less and two other defeats which were single-digits nearly all the way to the end, Keene State has now won their last two games by a combined six points on the road to gain confidence.
"Late game execution has been something we have been intentionally practicing recently and we have improved in those situations in comparison to some earlier games," Enright added.
It will be all Little East Conference action from here on out for KSC, who enters the final month or so of the regular season with aspirations to move up the regular season standings. But every game will be important. The Owls return home to host the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth (9-7, 3-4 LEC) on Wednesday (January 21) for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off before visiting the University of Massachusetts-Boston on Saturday afternoon.
"It is a big week for the Owls as we now turn all of our focus to UMass-Dartmouth," said Enright.
