Keene State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams faced off against the Cosiars in the Spaulding gymnasium on Jan. 17 in a doubleheader. The women’s team played first at 5:30 p.m. with the men following at 7:30 p.m. At the beginning of the games, two people were acknowledged from both campuses, Keene State’s former men’s basketball coach, Rob Colbert, who died on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, and UMass Dartmouth track athlete Flordan Bazile who was found dead on the same day, after going missing on Monday, Jan. 15.
According to Keene State’s athletic website, Colbert coached the men’s basketball program from 1999 to 2015, during most of this time he was also the Associate Athletic Director. He had 284 victories during the 16 seasons he coached. Colbert led the Owls to seven LEC tournament championship games, two Little East Conference titles, a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007 and an Elite 8 appearance in 2004. At the time of his death, Colbert was a coach at Monadnock Regional Middle-High School for the women’s team.
Bazile, or “Flo” a sophomore at UMass Dartmouth was described on the Corsair’s athletic website as, “Hard-working, passionate, determined, energetic, a champion and a great friend.”
During his time at UMass, he had many accomplishments such as getting recognized by the LEC two times in a row as Rookie Athlete of the Week on Jan. 8 and Jan. 15, 2024, after qualifying for New England D3 in the 200m with a time of 22.16. He ran the ninth-best time nationally in Division III, and was ranked second in the East Region, and first in the LEC. In the 2023 outdoor season, he set the school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.56, along with many more accolades.
A moment of silence was held to recognize the loss of both colleges before the games began.
Women
The women’s basketball game began with another jump ball as both teams failed to gain possession of the first tip-off. The second tip was won by the Corsairs, but they failed to score, missing a three-point shot, and giving the Owls a shot at redemption. Freshman Brynn Rautiola drove to the basket for a layup, but she was stopped when UMass Dartmouth, number 32 fouled her. Rautiola made both of her free throw shots and gave the Owls the first two points of the game. UMass Dartmouth Melanie Demeo, shot a 3 bringing the score 3-2 UMass. Dartmouth continued this stride, continuing to score as the Owls struggled to keep up. At the end of the first quarter, the score was 25-19 with UMass in the lead. The game continued in this fashion, Keene scored the lowest in the second quarter with six points while UMass had 19. The match ended 81-55 with UMass Dartmouth as the winner. Sophomore Valerie Luizzi and Rautiola were the team’s top scorers with Rauitola with 26 points and Luizzi with 14. Keene State will travel to Southern Maine on Saturday, January 20 at 1:00 for another LEC conference game.
Men
The men’s basketball game started more optimistically than the women’s. Jeff Hunter won the tip and the Owls took the ball down the court. Senior guard Nate Siow scored the first points of the game with a layup off the first possession. UMass Lopes came back and matched Siow’s layup, tying the score 2-2. UMass took the lead for the first four minutes of the game, but the Owls kept climbing. Senior Alonzo Linton, number 5, made a jump shot bringing the Owls back 11-12. Afterwards, the Owls stayed ahead of the Corsairs for the rest of the game. The first half ended with a score of 29-56 Keene. In the second half, UMass scored 47 points, and Keene State scored 48, ending with a score of 76 for UMass and 104 for Keene. The four top scorers for the game were Siow with 22 points, Octavio Brito with 20 points, Hunter with 20 points, and Linton with 15. Keene State remains at the top of the Little East Standings, with an 8-0 LEC record and a 14-2 overall record.
Molly Lu McKellar can be contacted
at mmckellar@kscequinox.com
