KEENE. N.H.  –  Octavio Brito and Jeff Hunter each had a double-double, combining for 45 points and 23 rebounds, to lead the seventh-ranked Keene State College Owls to a 94-80 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
 
Brito led all scorers with 23 points and snagged a game-high 12 rebounds on 9-for-16 shooting from the field, including a 5-for-9 mark from three. Hunter added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Owls, shooting 9-for-13 from the floor. Spencer Aronson was the only other Owl in double-digits with 11 points.
 
Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) led three Huskies in double-figures with 17 points, five rebounds, two steals and an assist.   Whelan was 7-for-14 from the floor as the Huskies shot a solid 50.7 percent (34-for-67) from the floor.  Seniors Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) and Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) each had 15 points.  Hawes had six assists, four rebounds and two steals. 
 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (4-3, 0-1 Little East)
No. 7 Keene State (6-1, 1-0 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 116^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Keene State College Owls.  Keene State leads the overall series 71-45. The Owls have won the last five games consecutively. 
 
How It Happened:

• After a Whelan layup cut the KSC lead to one possession, 16-13, with 13:52 on the clock, the Owls outscored Southern Maine 17-5 over the next 3:45 to take a commanding 33-18 lead with just over nine minutes before the break. The Owls were 7-for-7 from the floor during that stretch, including 3-for-3 from three point range.  Aronson led the Owls with six points. From there, the Owls maintained a comfortable double-digit advantage and took a 53-35 lead into the halftime break. Hunter finished with 16 first half points, while Brito had 10.
• Hawes scored the first points of the second half for the Huskies making it a 16-point game, 53-37, in USM's opening possession but the Owls rattled off an 11-0 run to lead 64-37 with 17:17 left in regulation.  The Owls were nearly perfect from the floor again in the decisive run going 4-for-5 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three.  Brito and Hunter combined for nine of KSC's 11 points in the run.  The Huskies, conversely, were 0-for-4 during that stretch.
• The Owls had their largest lead of the game, 70-40, with 15:40 left in the game on a step-back three from Brito. The Huskies chipped away halving their deficit over the next 9:25 to trail 80-65 with 6:15 on the clock.  USM outscored KSC 25-10 during that stretch, shooting a red-hot 62.5 percent (10-for-16) from the floor, including a 4-for-6 effort from three.  Freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine), Dixon and Hawes each had seven points for USM in the run. However, the Huskies would not get closer than 14 points the rest of the way for the 94-80 final.  

 
Inside The Stats:

• Keene State shot 52.1 percent (37-for-71) from the field, while USM shot 50.7 percent (34-for-67).  The Owls knocked down 12-of-27 from three, while USM was 9-for-25.  The Owls had a significant advantage on the boards out rebounding Southern Maine 43-18.  The Owls had 14 offensive rebounds in the contest leading to 17 second chance points. 

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns home against Rhode Island College on Wednesday, December 6 (7:30 pm) in LEC action, and then host Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, December 9 (3:30 pm). 
 
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