The Keene State Men’s Basketball team traveled to Western New England (WNE) on Saturday, Nov. 16 for a win in their season opener.
The Owls were ranked number 10 in the preseason top 25 rankings and were looking to start their season off on the right foot.
The Owls never trailed in the opening half and opened as big as a 13-point lead (24-11) early, and then pushed a seven-point halftime lead back out to 56-45 with 14:15 left, but they would ultimately have to erase a five-point deficit in the final 8:26 to emerge victorious.
A three pointer by senior guard Spencer Aronson trimmed the Golden Bears’ lead to one (67-66) with 6:21 left, and KSC retook the lead on junior forward Leo Chaikin’s jumper a minute later.
In the final four minutes, sophomore guard transfer Joshua Williams made several big plays. First, he gave the Owls the lead once more with a jumper that made it 73-71 with 3:25 to go, and a minute later made what was likely the biggest shot of the game for the Owls – a three to push KSC’s lead back out to seven (78-71) again.
Four points in a row by WNE’s Tim Restall, who had 37 on 16-of-23 shooting, made it a one-possession game again (78-75) with 1:43 remaining, but the Owls made their free throws down the stretch and in the game (27-for-32) in general. Aronson made a pair to make it 81-75 with 36 seconds on the clock and, after Cody Palazzesi made a triple to keep the Golden Bears with a chance, Williams made both of his free throws to make it a two-possession game once more with 16 ticks left.
Western New England missed a three on their ensuing possession and Keene State dribbled out their first win under new Head Coach Steven Enright.
It was a game that featured many box score oddities, the first of which being that Western New England shot nearly 52 percent and KSC 34 percent from the field. However, the Owls outscored the hosts 36-9 from three-point range and by 14 at the foul line to negate a minus-17 mark in the rebounding category.
Preseason All-American and senior guard Octavio Brito also fouled out in 20 minutes, scoring four points on 2-of-10 shooting. Due to a 4-for-9 outcome from three point range for Jean Baptiste and a 4-for-10 showing by Aronson, with both combining to go 10-for-10 at the foul line, the Owls overcame for a win.
The KSC Men’s Basketball team will participate in the Williams Purple and Gold Classic in Williamstown, Massachusetts on November 23 and 24.
Teddy Steinberg can be contacted at
tsteinberg@kscequinox.com
