DANBURY, Conn. – Jordan Cooper did everything he could, completing perhaps one of the most impressive individual LEC tournament performances the Keene State College men's basketball program has ever had.  Unfortunately, though, it was not enough as the otherwise ice-cold Owls could not get much going in an 84-68 loss in the Little East Conference tournament championship game to Western Connecticut State University Sunday afternoon at the Feldman Arena.

Cooper shot 50 percent from the field and poured in a game-high (by nearly double) 33 points, his second 30-point game of the tournament and fifth of the season.  It left his tournament total over three games at an astounding 97 points on 35-for-64 (55 percent), 9-of-20 from three, and 18-of-24 at the free throw line.  When his best was needed, the Owl star – a transfer in before this season – came through in a big way.  With another year of Cooper in store, it likely gives head coach Steve Enright and his staff a major foundational piece to help put together a big run next year.  But for right now, all that is in the minds of the Owls is disappointment, as they will miss the NCAA tournament for the first time since the 2019-2020 season (no tournament was held in 2020-2021).  Their string of an unprecedented four consecutive conference championships from 2022 through 2025 is also over, and it came at the hands of the team they had beaten each of the last three years – the last two in non-competitive blowouts at Spaulding Gymnasium.  KSC (17-11) had even beaten them twice this year, including 63-59 in Danbury in early January, but it was not meant to be today.

The Owls got off to an extremely slow start, as after Cooper scored the opening bucket, WestConn (21-6) scored 15 of the next 17 to take a 15-4 lead just 6:19 in.  KSC got five back quickly but played from behind for pretty much the entire day, and every time they would get within shouting distance, the hosts would answer and the Owls could not make many shots, as Cooper totaled exactly half of their field goals.  KSC likely felt decent about their standing at halftime, as they closed on a 12-2 burst over the final 2:42 to chop a 15-point deficit to just 39-34 at the break as Cooper and Mitch Shettles buried triples on consecutive possessions.  The Owls could have gotten even closer, but Cooper and Ryan Blakey could not connect down low on a pair of chances in the final seconds.

KSC also went 0-for-2 from the floor on their very first trip of the second half, and ultimately five was as close as they would ever get.  A jumper and two free throws by Cooper with 14:44 left brought them back within six at 50-44 after the Wolves had got their lead back to 11, but KSC then went scoreless for nearly three minutes and found themselves down 11 again.  Tayejon Lynch was fouled shooting a three and made all three from the line to make it a 60-48 game with 10:41 to go, but 38 seconds later Gabe Marquis made a three to get the Owls within eight again.  KSC had another possession down 60-52 but misfired, and WestConn went on a crushing 11-0 run (with seven points from the free throw line) over the next three minutes to go up by a game-high 19.  The Owls answered with the next five to make it 71-56 with 6:09 left and Shettles' triple with 5:29 to go made it 73-59, but Lynch put home a second chance basket on the Wolves' ensuing possession.  KSC then turned the ball over, missed two free throws, and then missed two threes on their next four possessions to just about end any hope of a comeback as WestConn receives the automatic bid from the Little East Conference for the first time since 2020 when they beat the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth at home in the championship.

KSC was making their 18th trip to the Little East Conference championship game in 29 seasons – by far the most in that span, eight more than the next closest team, but it will likely be one they will want to forget, as they finished just 22-of-63 from the field and 8-of-33 from three while also being outrebounded 46-40.  WestConn shot 41.8 percent (23-55) overall, 4-of-12 from three, and 34-for-45 at the foul line (KSC 16-for-28).  The Owls were also outscored 36-24 in the paint.

Lynch had 18 points and 10 rebounds to pace WestConn, who advanced to today's game and earned a home rematch with KSC after a 60-59 overtime win Friday night over Eastern Connecticut State University in a game they trailed 52-50 with less than three minutes to go.  Elijah Jean-Guillaume added 17 points and eight rebounds, going 11-for-11 at the foul line.  Jahlyl Morgan (4-7 FG, 2-4 3-PT, 2-5 FT) added 12 points.

For KSC, Cooper and Ryan Blakey (4-6 3-PT) combined for 45 of their 68 points and were 15-for-30 from the field.  The Owls had no third threat today, though, as the rest of the team combined to go 7-for-32 (22 percent).  KSC was just 3-for-19 from three and 9-of-16 at the foul line in the second half.

"Crushing loss for us today," said Enright, who is finishing his second season with the program after advancing to the NCAA tournament second round a year ago.  "This team showed a ton of grit – did not eclipse a .500 record until January 21 – but stayed the course and competed.  Good luck to WestConn in the NCAA tournament.  We will be back and we will get better."

It was just WestConn's third postseason win over KSC in 11 tries, and they improved to 22-45 in the all-time series.

The Owls will await the ECAC tournament bracket but will otherwise look ahead to 2026 and trying to get back to the top of the LEC and into the NCAA tournament.  KSC graduates impactful transfers Blakey, Shettles, and Leo Chaikin, as well as four-year Keene native Liam Johnston, who had won conference titles in each of his first three years and was a member of two Sweet 16 teams.  The NCAA tournament field will be officially revealed tomorrow afternoon on ncaa.com.