Keene State basketball coaches hit milestones with wins Tuesday

Nov. 17—Both Keene State basketball coaches hit significant milestones Tuesday, as the teams earned wins to continue the early-season success.

Men's coach Ryan Cain earned his 100th career win — the fourth coach in program history to do so — while women's coach Keith Boucher hit the 450-win milestone — tied for 27th among active Division III women's basketball coaches.

Men's coach Ryan Cain hits #100 with victory over Middlebury College

MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — Stout defense and timely shooting gave the Keene State College men's basketball team an 86-77 win over Middlebury College at Pepin Gymnasium on Tuesday evening.

It was the 100th career coaching victory for Keene State head coach Ryan Cain.

Mason Jean-Baptiste scored 19 of his 21 points after halftime, leading five KSC players in double-figures as the Owls led the entirety of the second half. Keene State forced 18 turnovers and committed just four, negating a 36-22 rebounding edge for the Panthers

James Anozie made his first start of the season and had 16 points with eight rebounds, while Octavio Brito had 15 points, Nate Siow added 11, and Jordan Santos came off the bench to make four of six three point attempts for 12 points.

The Owls fell behind 12-4 before a pair of threes from Santos clawed them back within four at the 13:01 mark. The teams stayed within three points of each other before the Owls stretched their advantage to 38-30 on Siow's layup with 55 seconds to go in the frame; Middlebury's Sam Stevens trimmed the gap to three with a three point bucket with 16 seconds to go to make it a 38-35 game at halftime.

Keene State roared out of the gates to start the second half, opening the stanza on a 10-1 run capped by a three from Jean-Baptiste from the left wing with less than four minutes gone. Middlebury kept trying to pull back, but the Owls had an answer every time, including another three from Santos that restored the lead to 62-51 after the Panthers had moved within six points on a three pointer from Charley Moore.

With the win, Cain becomes the fourth coach in program history to win at least 100 games. Rob Colbert, who coached at KSC from 1999-2015, is the programs' all-time leader in wins with 284. Glenn Theulen won 210 games from 1968-84, and Sumner Joyce won 191 contests from 1946-66.

Keene State (3-0) returns home for a non-conference date with Springfield College on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Women's coach Keith Boucher hits the 450-win mark with victory over MCLA

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — First years Samantha Lee and Kenzie Durnford combined for 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting and 12 rebounds as the Keene State College women's basketball team built a 22-4 lead after 10 minutes and handled the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts with ease in a 59-30 non-conference win Tuesday night at the Amsler Campus Center.

The Owls got a triple from Durnford right after the opening tip and a layup from Hailey Derosia less than two minutes in as they quickly led 7-2, and KSC proved to be well on their way from there, ending a brief two game slide that came in narrow late decisions against Babson College and Middlebury College.

The Owls shot 50 percent (7-for-14) overall in the first period while making 3-of-4 from three and 5-of-6 from the foul line to build the comfortable cushion.

Keene State's lead never dropped lower than 24 points in a second half that saw them spread around playing time in their third game in four days that also consisted of an overtime contest Sunday at Middlebury.

Fourteen different Owls saw action overall — everyone at least five minutes.

Lee finished with 13 points (4-8 FG) and five rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench, while Durnford had 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven boards in 22 minutes.

Aryanna Murray added seven points, eight rebounds, and three assists.

Leading scorer Hailey Derosia finished with six points (3-5 FG), four assists, three steals, and two rebounds while playing 21 minutes.

The victory gave head coach Keith Boucher the 450th of his career, tied for 74th-most all-time in women's Division III and tied for 27th-most (with SUNY Oneonta's Daphne Thompson) among active coaches at the level.

After the busy stretch, the Owls (3-2) will have a week off before hosting Worcester State (2-2) in a pre-Thanksgiving game on Nov. 23 at 5 p.m.