KEENE, NH - Jordan Cooper scored 27 points to lead four players in double-figures as the Keene State College Owls defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 96-75 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Cooper was 10-for-19 from the field for the Owls, and 4-for-7 from three. Denis Wainaina had 15 points, six rebounds and five blocked shots, while Mitch Shettles added 12 points and five boards. Kareem Porter had 11 points on an efficient 5-for-8 in 13 minutes off of the bench.
Senior
Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) was 10-for-19 from the floor for 27 points, adding three assists, two rebounds and a steal. Sophomore
Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) had 12 points, three assists and three rebounds on 5-for-6 shotting, while freshman
Carter Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) was 5-for-12 off of the bench for 11 points, four assists and three rebounds. Graduate student
Andrew Hartel (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) had a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Records:
Southern Maine (6-6, 1-2 LEC)
Keene State (5-6, 2-1 LEC)
Series History:
Today's contest marked the 134th meeting between the Keene State College Owls and the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Keene State leads the overall series 86-48, and the Owls have won the last eight games consecutively.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Trailing 11-0 early after the first three minutes of play, Southern Maine stormed back to lead the Owls 27-21 with just under eight minutes to play in the first half. Led by 12 points from Whelan and seven from Carter Galley, the Huskies vaulted themselves into the lead with a 27-10 run against Keene State on 12-for-19 shooting in a span of nine minutes and 26 seconds.
- Down two possessions, the Owls responded with a run of their own, 9-0, to retake the lead 30-27 on a three from Ryan Blakely. Huskies' senior Diego Colon stopped the KSC run with a three of his own to tied the game at 30 with 4:12 until the break and both teams went back and forth. Colon had the Huskies up a point with one of two free throws, 33-32, but the Owls surged ahead with a 13-1 run to close out the half and lead 45-34 headed into halftime.
- The Huskies kept pace with the Owls in the first five minutes of the second half and trailed 50-40 on a free throw from Sterling at the 15:22 mark, but KSC outscored Southern maine 22-13 over the next 4:53 to lead 72-53 with 10:29 to play. Shooting 8-for-12 (6-for-8 from three) from the field during that stretch, the Owls received scoring contributions from five different players led by nine points from Jordan Cooper.
- From there the Owls led by as many as 28 points, 91-63, with 5:46 remaining in regulation. The Huskies cut into the deficit with a 12-5 run in the closing minutes.
Inside The Statistics:
- Southern Maine outshot the Owls 41.8 percent to 39.3 percent, but the Owls had nearly 20 more shot attempts, shooting 33-for-84 to USM's 28-for-67. The Owls knocked down 14 threes in the contest, including 10 in the second half.
- KSC had a 47-37 lead in rebounds and an 18-9 lead in offensive boards, scoring 24 second chance points.
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains in LEC play and is home on January 6 (7:30 pm) vs. Rhode Island College, before hitting the road at VTSU-Castleton on Saturday, January 10 (3:00 pm).
-cac-
