The Keene State Men’s Basketball team won its fourth game of the season against MIT, securing an undefeated season so far and ranking themselves as number seven in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.
The Owls took the court at their home opener for Keene State College on Nov. 30.
The first half started with a massive lead against MIT, despite them scoring within the first minute of the game. The Owls gained a 17-4 lead within the first five minutes, eight of those points being scored by senior Octavio Brito, two of which were three-pointers.
Keene State kept their lead for the entire half, and Brito ended the half with 14 points in his 17 minutes of playing on the court. He also had two assists, two rebounds and three steals, two of which led to successful fast breaks to score points for the Owls.
Fifth-year Nate Siow scored eight points, making three out of his five shots. The two remaining points he scored from only two free throws he took in the first half. In his 12 minutes of playing time, he also got one defensive rebound, two assists and two steals.
Another standout in the first half was fifth-year Mason Jean Baptiste. Two of the shots he made were three-pointers, and like Siow, he scored eight points and also had two steals. Senior Spencer Aronson also scored six points, and sophomore Wesley Odiase scored five points, helping Keene State keep their lead.
The Owls ended the first half with a 50-33 score against the Engineers, keeping at least a 15-point lead after the first 10 minutes. As a team, they had 12 rebounds, 11 steals and 12 personal fouls. The Engineers ended the first half with 14 rebounds, two steals and matched KSC’s personal foul count of 12.
The Owls made 50% (17-34) of their shots on the hoop, 90% (9-10) of their free throws, and about 37% (7-19) of their 3-pointers. The Engineers made about 43% (9-21) of their shots, about 78% (14-18) of their free throws, and almost 15% (1-7) of their 3-pointers taken.
The Owls kept a large lead over the Engineers, and for most of the half, they had at least a twenty-point advantage, if not twenty-five, ending the game with a 29-point lead.
The final score was 89-60, giving the Owls yet another victory. They kept the pressure the entire game, and that led to 27 turnovers, resulting in 38 of their 89 points.
In the second half, Keene State made 51.9% (14-27) of their shots on the hoop, 38.5% (5-13) of their 3-pointers and 100% (6-6) of their free throws.
Brito kept his game on for the second half, scoring 20 points total for the Owls. This rounds his points per game average to 20.3, the best on the team. He also ended the game with five rebounds, four steals and one block.
Siow also contributed a lot to the team, ending with 13 points scored, as well as three steals and one rebound. Odiase made 5-6 (.833%) of his shots taken.
Overall, the Owls ended with 26 rebounds, averaging about 32.5 per game so far this season. Brito leads in rebounding this season with an average of 7.8 per game, and Baptiste is second with an average of 3.8 rebounds a game.
The men’s basketball team plays against Tufts University in Medford, Mass. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, a team with a 5-1 record and coming off of their first loss against Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a close score of 61-74.
Hayley Doda can be contacted at
hayley@kscequinox.com
