Tension bubbled in the Spaulding Gymnasium Saturday as Keene State and Western Connecticut State University
fell into overtime during the Little East Conference (LEC) championship game. A packed Spaulding was on its feet as the clock ticked down, the Owls competing for their second consecutive LEC title.
As the full-court lob from Western Connecticut landed and the final seconds ticked away, students stormed the court, mobbing Cain and his team, who swarmed each other in celebration.
On paper, it would seem that this season for Keene State men’s basketball has been easy. Following a nail-biting win over Western Connecticut State University on Feb. 25, the Owls will play in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second consecutive year, but something about this season is different than the last.
The Owls are 26-1 and also a perfect 18-0 against Little East Conference (LEC) opponents, winning another LEC championship this season. The championship victory set a program season record for wins with 26, according to the athletic department’s website. But those records don’t tell the entire story.
The Owls faced the ultimate test on Saturday afternoon when they welcomed Western Connecticut to the Spaulding Gymnasium for the 2023 LEC Championship game.
Anticipation brewed in the moments before the game began as the gym was filled almost entirely by Owls fans. The energy could be felt from the opening tip-off all the way through the final seconds of overtime. That energy would carry the Owls through the first few minutes, as a quick offensive explosion put the Owls out in front early, 10- 2.
After an early timeout from Western Connecticut, things would quickly shift, however. The Wolves went on a fast 8-0 point-scoring run, very quickly tying the game at 10 after the Owls seemed to hold all of the momentum. The Owls also began to go cold from beyond the three-point arc, and were vastly out-rebounded as well, a trend that would continue for the rest of the game.
After trailing 10-2 early, the Wolves outscored the Owls by a total of 33-18 over the last 15 minutes of the first half, and with it took a 35-28 lead to halftime with the raucous crowd significantly quieted down. It is also worth noting that Western Connecticut kept Keene State and the LEC’s top scorer, sophomore captain and guard Octavio Brito, off the scoring board for the entire first half, a huge part of why the Wolves were able to put the game on upset alert after one half. Brito would score 13 points in the second half and beyond.
“They [Western Conn.] played entirely different than they played against us in the first two games,” head coach Ryan Cain said after the game. “It took us a little bit of time to get into our normal offense knowing that they were playing a lot different tonight.”
The Owls would need a comeback effort in the second half to claim back-to-back LEC titles — and they would get it.
Life was injected back into the home crowd after the Owls fell behind by nine to begin the second half. Brito would finally get points on the board and, with it, got some of his and the team’s confidence back on offense. The defense, which struggled to stop the Wolves in the paint in half one, also stepped up in a big way, using the noise from the crowd to their advantage, playing tighter defense, being more effective in stopping Western Connecticut.
As the final minutes ticked down, both teams went back and forth in scoring, some moments seeming as if the Wolves would pull off the upset, and others seeming like the Owls would finish the comeback effort. With the game tied at 64 in the final minute, an error on the Wolves final possession of regulation with the ball being dribbled out of bounds under the hoop gave Keene State a chance to win in regulation with nine seconds exactly to play. However, the Owls played conservatively in the final seconds, with the inbound to Brito being slowly dribbled up to halfcourt w h e r e a shot was blocked, ending regulation in a tie.
The crowd roared again as overtime began with a win on the tip-off from senior captain and forward Jeff Hunter for Keene State. From there, the Owls controlled the game, going up 66-64 quickly and not looking back. Some other key contributors besides Brito and Hunter down the stretch included junior guard Nate Siow, sophomore-transfer guard Tahmeen Dupree, fifth-year guard Jeric Cichon and junior guard Mason JeanBaptiste, who made key free-throws in the final minute to seal an 83-79 overtime win for Keene State, clinching their second straight LEC title in men’s basketball. The court soon became mobbed with fans after the Owls secured their victory.
When the chaos cleared, Cain described what set this Owls team apart from the others he’s coached, knowing what lies ahead. “Our ceiling is based on the leadership and culture in our program and it’s all driven by our players,” he said. “I think this is the most together and most connected team that I’ve ever had, and it’s resulted in us being the most consistent we’ve ever been…We feel like we’re just getting started.”
The journey has not ended for these Owls. They will play in the NCAA tournament once again, looking for their first ever national championship in program history.
Ryan Goodwin can be contacted at
rgoodwin@kscequinox.com
