KEENE, N.H. – You could make a case the Keene State College home crowd at Spaulding Gymnasium had not yet experienced an explosive performance from junior transfer Jordan Cooper, with three of his four highest-scoring efforts – all above 20 points – coming away from home.  They have now.  The North Carolina native poured in 27 points and made 10-of-19 from the field, putting an exclamation mark on his effort with a thunderous dunk with just under 10 minutes to go to give the Owls a 20-point lead as KSC rolled along to a 96-75 Little East Conference win over the University of Southern Maine Saturday at Spaulding Gymnasium.

Postgame Interview (Coach Enright)
Postgame Interview (Denis Wainaina)

Cooper was far from alone, as Ryan Blakey was not too far away from a quadruple-double (eight points, eight rebounds, nine assists to one turnover, and seven steals) while Denis Wainaina and Kareem Porter Jr. dominated inside, as the Owls (5-6, 2-1 LEC) opened the 2026 calendar year with a victory they hope will serve as a springboard as they head into a three-game conference week and beyond.

Although KSC hovered around 40 percent shooting for most of the afternoon, they doubled up the Huskies (6-6, 1-2 LEC) on the offensive glass and outscored the visitors 22-4 off turnovers.  The Owls had their best floor game of the season, compiling 17 assists on 33 made field goals and turning the ball over just five times.  For context, Wainaina had as many blocks (five) as KSC did turnovers.

It was Porter's work down low and Cooper's sizzling stretch early in the second half that changed the complexion of the game – quickly.  KSC sprinted out to an 11-0 lead less than three minutes in, but saw Southern Maine answer with a 20-3 run that included a burst of eight points in 47 seconds to conclude it, giving the Huskies a 20-14 lead with 12:22 to go in the first half.  Down 27-21, Cooper scored twice inside – one off a steal by Blakey – to begin a 9-0 run that put KSC ahead 30-27 at the 4:35 mark.  An offensive rebound and putback by Porter tied the game before Blakey swished a three on the next trip.  Porter again crashed the offensive glass for a second chance bucket on the next trip, and then vacuumed up another miss and was fouled while scoring with 2:45 to go, making the ensuing free throw for a 35-33 advantage.

The final 1:39 of the opening half, which included two triples by Josh Williams, changed the game completely as KSC ran off 10 straight points to suddenly take a 45-34 advantage to the locker room – matching their early 11-0 lead for the biggest.

It was the Cooper show to begin the second half, as he scored five straight and added a steal in the opening 30 seconds to push KSC's lead to 16, and Southern Maine was never within single-digits again.  All four of his triples in the game came in the opening 7:14 out of the locker room, including a pair to answer USM scores and keep the Owls in front comfortably (62-46) with 13:27 left. 

Another putback by Porter and another triple from Cooper less than a minute later made it 67-46 and KSC was well on their way, getting a huge Blakey-to-Cooper alley-oop with 9:38 remaining for a 74-54 lead.  A trey from Isaac Ogutuga and layup by Mitch Shettles helped give the Owls a game-high 28-point edge (86-58) with 7:14 to go.  Michael Coggins then added eight points down the stretch – marking the first home field goals of his young career – as KSC beat USM for the ninth straight time and improved to 30-1 against the Huskies at Spaulding Gymnasium.  Southern Maine saw a three-game winning streak, which included a 76-72 home conference win against Western Connecticut State University on December 6, snapped.

KSC finished with four in double-figures, as Wainaina added 14 points (5-10 FG, 4-5 FT), six rebounds, and five blocks, while Shettles (4-8 FG, 3-6 3-PT) had 12.  Porter finished with 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting and nine rebounds (six offensive) in 13 minutes.  Blakey was 2-of-4 from deep in his effort, while Cooper added three rebounds and two assists to his team-high point total.

Thomas Whelan led the Huskies with 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, 4-of-6 from deep, and 3-of-3 at the foul line while Evans Sterling (5-6 FG) had 12 points, but the Owls forced the duo into a combined 10 turnovers.  KSC also held Southern Maine to a season-low 41.8 percent shooting effort from the field.

The Owls travel to face Plymouth State University (4-7, 0-2 LEC) on Tuesday (January 6) for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off before hosting Eastern Connecticut State University on Thursday (January 8) at 6:00 p.m.  The busy week concludes at Rhode Island College on Saturday afternoon.  Plymouth enters having lost three straight, including an 82-50 loss this afternoon to non-conference opponent Norwich University at Foley Gymnasium.  The Cadets (4-8) shot nearly 61 percent from the field in the runaway and held the Panthers to 29.5 percent.