Owls best unbeaten Falcons

Eagle Times Staff
NEW HAVEN, CT — Fifth year center Jeff Hunter posted 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 18 rebounds for his 29th double-double in the last 34 games as the nationally No. 7 ranked Keene State College men’s basketball team outscored previously unbeaten Albertus Magnus College 37-19 over the final 13:27 to post a 94-77 road victory at the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center Tuesday night, Nov. 28.

In the midst of a stretch of five games in 11 days and at the end a string of five consecutive games away from home, the Owls picked up a key win, handing the Falcons — defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference champions from a season ago — just their 13th home loss in the last seven seasons (75-13). One game after placing six in double-figures and scoring 119 points in a rout at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, KSC again had five double-digit scorers, including a combined 11-for-25 shooting effort and combined 31 points from Mason Jean Baptiste and Tahmeen Dupree. Nate Siow had an impressive 16-point effort on 7-of-11 shooting, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. However, what keyed the victory was a defense that limited Albertus Magnus to just 29 percent (8-for-28) shooting in the second half and no threes on 10 tries in the game (0-for-5 in both halves). Thanks to Hunter, Falcons center Kevin Crawford scored only five points (on seven free throw attempts) and was denied a basket from the field (0-for-7). Tazhon Daniels led AMC in scoring with 17 points but was 4-for-16 from the field in the process.

KSC carried a four-point lead into the halftime break despite flying out to a 16-7 lead in barely over four minutes, and after going up seven in the opening minute of the second half, saw the Falcons again rally, taking a one-point lead (58-57) with 13:24 left and a 61-59 edge a minute later on a layup by Jeyson Slade. However, despite an off-shooting night from three-point range — where the Owls were only 3-for-13 — the Falcons otherwise had few answers inside the arc as KSC shot 33-for-59 (56 percent).

Albertus fought uphill for nearly the entire game. Their largest lead of two turned into a six-point deficit again (67-61) in less than two minutes as the Owls ripped off eight straight including two buckets from Hunter off Spencer Aronson passes. The lead only expanded from there as KSC dominated the final 11 minutes to turn it into a blowout. A 3-point play from Siow made it 72-65 with 9:43 left, and a layup from Hunter at the 8:20 mark made it 76-67. The lead reached double-digits 2 minutes later (81-71) on a bucket and free throw from Hunter and was 85-72 on a slicing layup from Dupree with 4:39 remaining. That duo helped provide the finishing touches, scoring on consecutive trips 2 minutes later for a 90-73 edge, and KSC led by as many as 21 (94-73) in the final minutes. While the Owls shot 47 percent from the field and made 11-of-14 free throws in the second half offensively, they also completely nullified the Falcons’ offense to the tune of 3-for-17 shooting and four turnovers in the game-deciding stretch. After committing seven turnovers in the first half, KSC made just four miscues in the second half. Albertus stayed within four at the break partly thanks to only four turnovers in the opening 20 minutes (the other part a 13-for-16 effort at the free throw line). The hosts turned it over eight times after the break.

Hunter had a double-double in the second half alone, tallying 16 points (7-9 FG) and 11 rebounds. Dupree had 9 points and five boards in the final 20 minutes, and Siow nine points (4-7 FG) and two assists. After 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting in the first half, Justice Washington had only four points (and four shots) in the second.

“Very proud of our team, going into an extremely tough gym to play in and a very physical game with an incredible amount of free throws,” said Keene State Coach David Hastings. “Jeff Hunter showed great leadership with another double-double of 22 and 16, but the team effort with five in double-figures stood out. Defensively, locking down their offense and only allowing 7 points in the last 8 minutes was the real story of the game.”

KSC built their first half advantage courtesy of 14 points from Octavio Brito on 4-of-6 shooting, while Jean Baptiste added 10 (4-6 FG). Siow, returning to the lineup, had 7 points, three rebounds, and two steals to provide a spark, including a layup at the 12:57 mark to put the Owls in front 22-15 after they had earlier opened a 16-7 lead. Albertus chipped away, going on a 10-2 burst to take their first lead at 25-14 with 10:31 left until the break. Saikwon Williams put the hosts up two exactly 2 minutes later, but KSC went up three on a four free throw trip from Brito, and later 41-35 as part of a 6-0 burst that featured a three from Aronson and jumper from Jean Baptiste. A dunk by Brito with 2:47 left in the half made it 43-37, and Siow made a layup while being fouled a minute later for a six-point edge. After taking the 49-45 lead into the break, KSC trailed for just 19 seconds in the second half and only 1:33 in the game despite there being 10 lead changes and eight ties.

KSC returns home and opens Little East Conference action on Saturday, Dec. 2, against the University of Southern Maine (4-1) at 3 p.m.