Tag: Keene State

Keene State captures fourth-straight LEC title

By: Logan Paronto

KEENE, NH – Keene State’s men’s basketball team captured its fourth-straight Little East title with a 80-67 win over Western Connecticut on Saturday at Spaulding Gymnasium.

With the win, Keene State becomes the first team in LEC history to capture four-straight championships.

The Owls dominated defensively in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers while holding the Wolves to just 22 percent from the floor.

The second-half would belong to sophomore Wesley Odiase, who scored 14 points in the half, highlighted by a monstrous tomahawk slam after leaving his defender in the dust.

Odiase would score a game-high 20 for the Owls, while Octavio Brito would capture a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Siow and Ryan Blakey would reach finish with 14.

Cameron Gallon paced the scoring with 14 for the Wolves, Jeremiah Williams and Tayejon Flynch both added 11, respectively.

Steven Enright captures the title in his first year at the helm, selections for the NCAA tournament will be made on Monday, March 3rd at 12:00 noon.

Western Connecticut finishes its season as conference runner-up for the third-straight season with an 18-9 record.

Check out the full photo gallery by Marc Hoak…

Western Connecticut Men at Keene State (3.1.25) Marc Hoak
Western Connecticut Men at Keene State (3.1.25) Marc Hoak
82 photos

No. 24 Keene State pulls away late from Plymouth State

By: KJ Cardinal

PLYMOUTH, NH – Host Plymouth State gave Keene State all they could handle for 25 minutes of action before the 24th-ranked Owls pulled away late for an 80-70 victory on Wednesday night at Foley Gym. 

The Panthers lead 35-33 at the half and push their lead to 41-36 with under 17 minutes to go in the game. The Owls then closed out the contest on a 44-29 run to come away with the victory.

KSC was led by 26 points from Octavio Brito. Mason Jean Baptiste added 15 points, while Spencer Aronson and Mitch Shettles netted 13 points apiece.

PSU was paced by 20 points from Kevin Henry (Exeter), 17 from Eli Swanson (Inter-Lakes/Holderness), 12 from Ivan Yen (Concord) and 10 from Torran Bosworth.

With the victory, Keene State improves to 16-three overall in 10-0 in the Little East Conference. Plymouth State Falls to 9-9 on the season and 3-7 in LEC action.

Check out the full photo Gallery by Cindy Lavigne of Lavigne’s Live Shots…

Keene State Men at Plymouth (01.29.25) - CINDY LAVIGNE
Keene State Men at Plymouth (01.29.25) – CINDY LAVIGNE
60 photos

Keene State denies Plymouth State

By: KJ Cardinal

PLYMOUTH, NH – It was a rock fight at Foley Gym on Wednesday night as in-state foes Keene State and Plymouth State combined for just 100 points total as the Owls came out on top, 55-45. 

The two squads managed just nine first quarter points combined as Keene State took a 7-2 lead after one. The score was later 28-27 heading to the fourth with Keene State holding the 11-point edge.

The visiting Owls then unloaded 27 points in the final stanza to come away with the victory.

Conant’s Brynn Rautiola led Keene State with a game-high 21 points, while Raegan Peck paced the Panthers with 20 points of her own.

With the win, the Owls improve to 8-11 overall and 4-5 in Little East Conference play. PSU falls to 3-15 on the season and is 0-10 in LEC action.

Check out photos of the action by Connor Chrusciel… 

Keene State Women at Plymouth State (01.29.25) - Connor Chrusciel
Keene State Women at Plymouth State (01.29.25) – Connor Chrusciel
34 photos

Dasaro leads Keene State past Colby-Sawyer

KEENE, NH – Freshman Ruby Dasaro poured in a career-high 23 points to pace Keene State past visiting in-state foe Colby-Sawyer, 62-56, on Monday.

Brynn Rautiola (Conant) and Valerie Luizzi added 16 and 15 points, respectively for the Owls, who improve to 5-5 on the season with the win.

The Chargers were led by 21 points from Courtney Brewster and 15 from Marissa Holt. Colby Sawyer falls to 6-4 with the loss.

Check out the full photo gallery by Marc Hoak…

Colby Sawyer Women at Keene State (12.30.24) Marc Hoak
Colby Sawyer Women at Keene State (12.30.24) Marc Hoak
51 photos

No. 12 Keene State handles Plymouth State

KEENE, NH – In an intrastate match-up, No. 12 Keene State flexed their Division III muscle with a 93-63 victory over Plymouth State on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gym.

The Owls were led by 23 points from Octavio Brito, while Wesley Odiase (16), Mason Jean Baptiste (11) and Spencer Aronson (10) all netted double-figures as well. The Panthers were paced by 19 points from Torran Bosworth and 15 from Kevin Newton Delgado. Eli Swanson (11) and Kevin Henry (10) also registered double-digits in the scoring column.

With the win, Keene State improves to 5-1 overall and 1-0 in Little East play. PSU falls to 6-3 and 1-2 in LEC action.

Check out the full photo gallery by our newest contributor Marc Hoak…

Plymouth State Men at Keene State (12.11.24) - Marc Hoak
Plymouth State Men at Keene State (12.11.24) – Marc Hoak
70 photos

Keene State duo paces Owls past Plymouth State

KEENE, NH – Sophomore Brynn Rautiola (Conant) and freshman Kiley Bundy (Stevens) combined for 46 points as Keene State cruised past visiting Plymouth State, 87-49, on Wednesday night at Spaulding Gym.

Valerie Luizzi knocked down a three-pointer just 19 seconds into the ball game and the Owls never looked back. KSC led wire-to-wire to come away with the victory.

Luizzi (12) and Ruby Dasaro (10) also chipped in with double-digits for the Owls, who improve to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in Little East action.

The Panthers were led by eight points apiece from Raegan Peck and Hailey Malozzi. With the loss, PSU falls to 2-8 on the season, 0-3 in LEC play.

Check out the full photo gallery by our newest contributor Marc Hoak…

Plymouth State Women at Keene State (12.11.24) - Marc Hoak
Plymouth State Women at Keene State (12.11.24) – Marc Hoak
56 photos

Keene State’s Rautiola named LEC Player of the Week

Keene State’s Brynn Rautiola was named the Little East Conference Player of the Week on Monday. The sophomore guard from Rindge who starred at Conant HS averaged 31.5 PPG on the week.

Rautiola netted 27 points at Worcester State on Tuesday before pouring in a career-high 36 points, including 8 three-pointers, in the Owls first win of the season at Maine Maritime on Sunday. The 36 points was just three shy of the KSC single-game scoring mark.

Rautiola and the Owls return to Keene tonight for their home opener versus VTSU Johnson at 6:00 PM.

Weekly conference awards roll in around New Hampshire

Mondays are weekly conference award day in college basketball and a few folks from schools in the Granite State were recognized by their leagues. Check it out…

Little East Conference Player of the Week
Octavio Brito, Keene State

Keene State’s Octavio Brito was named the Little East Conference Player of the Week on Monday. The senior guard led the No. 7 Owls to a 2-0 record on the week as he averaged a hefty double-double with 28.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. In wins over Thomas and No. 25 Williams, Brito shot 54% from the field (19-35), 50% from three (9-18) and 83% from the line (10-12).

Keene State is currently ranked 7th nationally in the latest D3hoops.com rankings. The Owls are 3-0 on the season and return to action on Saturday at home versus MIT at 1:00 PM.

Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week
Sean McCarthy, Saint Anselm

After leading Saint Anselm to a pair of victories last week, Sean McCarthy has been named Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week.

The 6’6 senior from Ireland posted a pair of double-doubles in two contests. He tallied 14 points and 10 boards versus Saint Mike’s on Wednesday and then had 17 and 16 versus Jefferson on Saturday.

Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week
Erik Oliver-Bush, Saint Anselm

Following his breakout performance last week, Saint Anselm’s Erik Oliver-Bush has been named Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Week.

The 6’5 guard dropped a career-high 22 points in the Hawks big win over Saint Mike’s on Wednesday and followed it up with a 15-point performance on Saturday in a 73-71 victory over Jefferson.

Keene State men, RIC women ousted from NCAA tourney

By Mike Whaley

It was Black Friday for the Keene State College men and the Rhode Island College women in their respective Sweet 16 rounds of the NCAA Division III basketball tournament.

No. 5 KSC fell apart in the second half to lose at No. 7 Guilford, 84-60, while the No. 3 RIC saw its undefeated season come to an end with an unusually bad shooting night to Washington & Lee, 61-55.

Keene led 29-24 in the first half, but an uncharacteristic season-high 21 turnovers led to a six-point halftime deficit (40-34). The Owls were outscored in the second half, 42-26. They end their season with a 26-3 record.

Octavio Brito and Jeff Hunter led KSC with 12 points apiece, Mason Jean Baptiste added 11 points.

The RIC women (29-1) played from behind most of the night against Washington & Lee, making just 28 percent of their shots, which included 3 of 23 from 3-point land. The Anchorwomen made only 4 of their 16 foul shots.

RIC trailed 45-33 after three quarters and was down 56-48 with 53 seconds to play, but was able to cut the lead to three (58-55) and had a chance to tie it in the waning seconds, but a 3-pointer was off the mark. Hinsdale junior Angelina Nardolillo was one of the few bright spots for the Anchorwomen. She led the team in scoring with 15 points on 7-of-14 shooting.

Washington & Lee (29-2) was led by sophomore forward Mary Schleusner, who scored a game-high 34 points and pulled down a tournament record 33 rebounds, breaking her own record of 29 set earlier in the tournament.

College hoop roundup: NCAA D-III tourney update

By: Mike Whaley

Hinsdale junior Angelina Nardolillo and the No. 3 Rhode Island College women’s team remain unbeaten after winning their first- and second-round NCAA Division III tournament games in their home gym. They’ll have more home cooking this weekend in the sectional as they host three teams Friday and Saturday.

The Anchorwomen (29-0) beat St. Joseph’s (Maine), 56-37, and St. John Fisher, 66-43, to advance to the Sweet 16. They meet No. 19 Washington & Lee (28-2) Friday night at 8 p.m., after the 5:30 p.m. game between Bates College (24-5) and No. 7 Wartburg (27-2). The two winners play Saturday in the Elite Eight game at 7:30 p.m. with the winner earning a berth to the NCAA Final Four in Columbus, Ohio, March 14-16. RIC is looking to return to the final four for the second year in a row.

Nardolillo had strong games in both wins. In the St. Joe’s victory, she had 11 points and 11 rebounds, while vs. St. John Fisher she totaled a team-high 19 points and pulled down nine boards. 

The final score of both games were deceptive. Against St. Joe’s, RIC jumped out to a 24-7 lead after the first quarter, but that lead evaporated. The Monks closed the gap to 32-28 in the second half before the Anchorwomen were able to pull away.

Versus St. John Fisher, RIC led by just 27-24 at the half, but used a 17-7 run in the third quarter to build a 44-31 lead and were not challenged from there.

The other N.H. connected game of interest involves the Keene State College men, the only N.H. team to qualify for either tournament. The Owls (26-3) hosted and won their first two games over Marymount (Va.), 82-76, and Eastern, 109-85. In the Marymount win, KSC got big games from Jeff Hunter (22 points, 16 rebounds) and Octavio Brito (22 points, 8 boards), while Spencer Aronsonand Nate Siow added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

In the second round, the Owls were led by Brito’s career-high 40 points, and 20 points and 14 boards from Hunter.

No. 5 KSC will play in the Sweet 16 in Greensboro, N.C., vs. No. 7 Guilford (24-4) Friday at 7:15 p.m. The first game is between No. 21 Williams and No. 23 Christopher Newport at 4:15 p.m. The two winners play Saturday at 7:15 p.m. for the right to advance to the final four in Fort Wayne, Indiana, March 14-16.