BOSTON, Mass. – One month and three days ago, the University of Massachusetts-Boston went 39-of-50 at the foul line and defeated the Keene State College men's basketball team 93-80 at the Clark Athletic Center to sweep the season series for the first time ever. The defeat dropped the Owls to just 9-9 and 6-4 in the conference. Eight wins and just one loss later, KSC will now play for the Little East Conference championship – again. Cooper poured in 26 points on another efficient effort, making 10-of-19 from the field and 3-of-5 from three-point range, while sophomore Franklin Pierce University transfer Kareem Porter added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 16 rebounds, and two critical free throws late as the Owls downed the University of Massachusetts-Boston 75-72 to end the Beacons' season Friday night in the conference tournament semifinals at the Clark Athletic Center.
Keene State, now 17-10, will advance to take on a familiar opponent once again – Western Connecticut State University – on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Danbury as the Owls look to win a remarkable fifth consecutive Little East Conference championship. The top-seeded Wolves, who have lost in the title game at Spaulding Gymnasium in each of the past three years, punched their ticket back again with a gritty, grimy 60-59 overtime win over No. 6 seeded Eastern Connecticut State University at Feldman Arena tonight. KSC is 8-2 against WestConn (20-6) in the postseason but has only played one postseason game in Danbury all-time, a semifinal loss to Plymouth State University in 2002. Sunday, on that same court, the Owls – winners of 11 straight LEC tournament games – will look to extend their historic run in the league.
If
Jordan Cooper has anything to say about it, the Owls would seem to have a good chance. The North Carolina native who transferred to KSC this season as a junior has saved some of his best efforts for the right time: 30 points in a comeback home win over WestConn February 14. A 38-point masterpiece Wednesday night against RIC in the quarterfinals to get the Owls to tonight. And tonight, a 26-point effort that included two critical baskets late that kept KSC in front, including a layup with 1:48 left that made it 69-66. He had help again tonight in different forms, including from senior
Mitch Shettles, who put back a critical bucket with 1:18 to go to make it a three-point game again after UMass-Boston had again gotten within one on two Davon Sanders free throws. KSC had a pair of possessions with a chance to extend that advantage but could not, and two Raphel Laurent free throws with 21 seconds to go made it 71-70. But the Owls made all the plays they needed to from there, including Porter – the big man whose father played for KSC in the early 2000s – sinking two gigantic free throws (after not attempting one in his previous three games) a tick later after he was intentionally fouled when he got the ball. KSC let Laurent go in the paint for a layup with nine seconds left, forcing Shettles to then make a pair from the line with eight to go – and he did. The sped-up Beacons then were unable to get a shot off and the Owls' length proved to be a factor, with Sanders turning the ball over and Wainaina picking it off as the seconds ticked away.
Porter was a menace to the Beacons all night, helping KSC to a dominant 54-37 edge on the boards. The Owls had 24 offensive rebounds, with 10 coming from Porter, as part of his career-high matching 16 boards overall. It helped offset what was otherwise a spotty effort from the field (35 percent) for KSC, who had to win with defense and rebounding. But as they have done before – including a 63-59 road win over Sunday's title game opponent – they proved they can. Laurent scored a game-high 36 points on 11-of-22 shooting, but the rest of the Beacons were limited to just a 13-for-41 effort (32 percent) from the field. KSC outscored UMB 38-30 in the paint, 20-13 on second chances, and 19-11 on fastbreaks.
The Owls led 40-35 at halftime and were in front for nearly in the entire second half, including 56-47 after Porter's three-point play. Cooper's layup with 8:14 left still had KSC up 62-55, but Laurent answered with a big three 13 seconds later and the Beacons surged in front by one (64-63) with 3:48 on the clock as the Owls scored just one point in nearly five minutes. KSC, though, turned to one of their steady hands on their lone possession of the half when they trailed, as
Leo Chaikin put them back in front with a layup 25 seconds later. Two misses and a turnover for the Beacons led to a Cooper layup with 2:30 to go and a 67-64 edge, and KSC held on to win the nail-biter.
"Credit to UMass-Boston on a great season," said Owls head coach Steve Enright, who has helped KSC advance to the title game in both of his seasons. "They have two Player of the Year type guys and a third in Sanders who should be an All-LEC selection. Our guys were galvanized after seeing UMB celebrating in the regular season wins and came into tonight with a chip on their shoulder. We were a little sloppy finishing around the rim most of the night but made the winning plays when it counted. Kareem stepped up in a big way and we rode our four seniors and Cooper down the stretch and they answered the bell. On to a very good WestConn team."
KSC is 8-2 against WestConn all-time in the LEC tournament, where they improved to 43-20 all-time. The Owls will be making their 18th appearance in the league championship in 29 seasons, including 11 appearances in the last 12 years. They will be aiming for their ninth championship when March, aptly, kicks off in two days.
