Plymouth State University
The Keene State College men’s basketball team hosted Plymouth State University on the night of Feb. 8, which was the alumni night at the Spaulding Gymnasium. Keene was able to shut down Plymouth on Wednesday night and beat them by a score of 88-61.
After the big win by Keene, the Owls progressed to a standing record of 15-7, 8-3 in the Little East Conference (LEC). After the loss for the Panthers, they fell to 10-11, 4-7 in the LEC standings.
Ty Nichols led the Owls with 21 points in 28 minutes, shooting 9-12 from the field. Jeff Lunn had put up 18 points, shooting 5-11 from the field. Jimmy Layman and Damonte Turner also helped the Owls seal the victory, combining for 23 points.
Jimmy Layman commented on how the Owls were playing after a big performance from the whole team. “We have been practicing really hard and it showed tonight,” Layman said.
On the other side of the court, Ernie Johnson, Jaylen Leroy and Curtis Arsenault all put up 11 points for the Panthers. Plymouth outscored Keene in the beginning of the game, leading the Owls 11-5. The Owls came back with a 12-2 run, which gave them the lead 17-13. The first half was fought by both teams, and the Owls went into the break leading the Panthers 44-36.
Coming into the second half, the Owls came out quickly. Leroy scored the first points of the half, giving them a spark. Matt Ozzella scored the next three baskets for the Owls, giving them a 50-38 lead. Plymouth simply lost it and couldn’t find the bottom of the net. The Panthers went on to shoot just 7-30 for the second half. The Owls finished off the game with a strong second half performance, outscoring the Panthers 44-25.
Head Coach Ryan Cain talked about the performance after a big Owls victory. “I think [Jack]Preston, [Curtis] Arsenault and [Mike] Osgood are three of the best players in the LEC and we shut them down tonight. I am very pleased with our effort defensively.”
The Owls swept the season series with the Panthers. They improved to a 34-18 overall record all time against the Plymouth State Panthers. Keene improved to 10-1 at home and they have not lost a game when scoring over 80 points. KSC Head Coach Cain picked up his 35th career win.
Cam Mozzer can be contacted at cmozzer@kscequinox.com
Western Connecticut State University
Senior Jeffrey Lunn scored his career-high of 26 points during the Owls’ game against the Western Connecticut State University (WCSU)Colonials on Feb. 11 at the Spaulding Gymnasium. “We just wanted to move the ball around today. We wanted to get open looks however we could. The career-high is nice, but I just wanted to win the game. We don’t have agendas, we just move the ball around a lot and different people step up,” Lunn said.
Lunn led all of the scorers with 26, while knocking in all 10 of his free throws. Jaquel Edwards added 20, while Matthew Ozzella and Ty Nichols added 13 points each. Ozzella achieved his 11th double-double of the year with 12 boards.
Shelby Iava/ Sports Editor
The Owls opened up a large lead early on. They had a 22-5 run in the first half. The Owls were up 28-13. Nichols found Damonte Turner for a three-point shot and Lunn converted a three-point play.
The Owls continued to push over Western, extending their lead 38-14 on a pair of frees by Ozzella. Edwards shot and sank a three just as the buzzer for the half went off. The Owls remained on top 47-21 at the break.
The Colonials began to get back in the game as they managed to sink a three and a 20-foot jumper to get the lead under 20 (65-46). With just 8:39 left, the Colonials cut the lead even more with a layup. Western has now made it a 13-point game.
The Owls kept moving forward, restoring the lead, when Lunn tipped in Jake Collagan’s miss and Nichols ended the game with a three-point play and a breakaway slam dunk. The Owls beat the Colonials 95-80.
Shelby Iava can be contacted at siava@kscequinox.com
