GORHAM, Maine  –   Freshman Octavio Brito (Lincoln, R.I.) scored a game-high 23 points, making six threes along the way, to lead the Keene State College Owls to a 75-59 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
 
The Owls won their sixth straight game and improve to 7-2 on the road this season.  Brito was the only Owl in double-figures. Eleven different players registered at least two points for KSC.
 
The Records: 
Keene State (12-2, 7-0 Little East)
Southern Maine (6-8, 1-4 Little East)
 
Series History:  Competing in the 112^th game in the series between the two schools, Keene State leads the overall series 67-45.  KSC sweeps the 2021-2022 season series between the two schools.
 
Standout Huskies:  Juneau Anicette 12 points, 3 rebounds 2 assists, 2 steals; Cody Hawes 11 points, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 1 assist; Jason Lombard 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists.
 
Standout Owls: Octavio Brito 23 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals; Jeric Cichon 6 points, 8 rebounds,5 assists, 2 steals; Nate Siow 9 points, 2 steals.
 
How It Happened: 

•  After a tough opening 10 minutes that saw a combined 17 turnovers from both squads, Keene State held a 7-2 advantage.  KSC registered its seventh point of the game at the 14:46 mark, while USM scored its lone bucket at 17:23.
• The Owls snapped the scoreless streak for both teams when Brito hit two free throws at the 9:41 mark igniting a 14-2 run to take a commanding 21-4 lead with 5:02 to play. Brito scored eight of the Owls' 14 points in the run, including a pair of threes.
•  Down 21-4, USM won the final five minutes outscoring KSC 12-3.  Four Huskies scored in run led by four points each from senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak) and freshman Juneau Anicette (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips). 
• With a 24-16 halftime lead, KSC opened the second half outscoring USM 9-2 in the first two minutes to lead 33-18.  Mason Jean Baptiste and Brito each hit threes to start the half, and were followed by a traditional three-point play from Jeff Hunter. 
• The Huskies cut their deficit to 46-35 on a layup from junior Marcus Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) with 11:51 remaining, but KSC responded with three consecutive three-pointers. Max Bonney Liles hit the first and Brito went back-to-back to balloon the Owls' lead with 55-35 with 9:20 to go.
• KSC remained in front of the Huskies ant led 70-50 with 2:52 left before USM closed out the game with a 9-5 spurt for the 75-59 final.

Inside the Stats: 

• Both teams finished with 25 turnovers in the contest. Keene scored 21 of its 75 off of turnovers, while USM converted 17 points off of Owls miscues.
•  USM shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55) from the field but was just 4-for-19 from three. KSC shot 45.8 percent (22-for-48) from the floor, and was 13-for-30 from three (43.3 percent).  Brito was 6-for-8.

Up Next: 
Southern Maine travels to Plymouth State on Monday (7:30 pm) for a Little East Conference game. The Huskies will host Castleton University on Saturday (3:00 pm) and Western Connecticut on Sunday (3:00 pm). 
 
 
 Southern Maine Athletics has gone to fully digital game programs, please click this link to access the game programs to future Husky home events!