 Keene State College wins the LEC 2021-2022 title (Photo: LEC)
Revenge Served Cold: Siow to Hunter Alley-Oop in Overtime Helps KSC Stun No. 24 UMD 71-69, Win 4th Little East Title Since 2015 - Mar 2, 2022 
One year ago in a season unlike anyone has ever seen and in a gymnasium void of spectators, the Keene State College men's basketball team suffered a defeat in the Little East Conference championship game for which the taste would linger and, ideally, fuel them for the 2021-2022 campaign. On Saturday afternoon at an energized Tripp Athletic Center, the Owls made good, used that fuel, and after two tough regular season losses to the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, got the last laugh in the biggest of spots, upsetting the top seed and 24th-nationally ranked Corsairs 71-69 on a Nate Siow to Jeff Hunter (6'7''-F) alley-oop dunk with 3.2 seconds left in overtime to win their fifth Little East tournament championship.Records Keene State: 20-6 No. 24 UMass-Dartmouth: 24-4 Postgame Interviews with Coach Cain and James Anozie (6'6''-C) (click here) How It Happened After not leading at all in three of the last four games against the Corsairs, the Owls used a dominant inside game to roll out to a six-point halftime edge, led by as many as 12 early in the second half, and then had a response for most very push UMD had down the stretch. The KSC answers came mostly from two dominant big men, as senior and tournament Most Outstanding Player James Anozie and junior Jeff Hunter each scored 19 points, combining to make 17-of-26 from the floor while grabbing 24 rebounds (nine offensive). The duo scored 18 in the first half on 8-of-10 from the floor, were limited some in the second 20 minutes as they "cooled" to 4-of-11 shooting, but then saved their best for last, scoring every point in overtime while making all five of the shots they took. After Marcus Azor (6'2''-G) put UMass-Dartmouth up 62-60 with two free throws on his team's first possession of the extra session, KSC started to take over, as Anozie scored six consecutive points - scoring on three trips down the court in a row - and the Owls ultimately opened up a 68-64 edge with an 8-2 burst in a 3:38 span, taking that lead on a bucket from Hunter with 49 seconds to go. Jake Ashworth (6'1''-G), quiet most of the day, drained a must-make triple to answer 13 seconds later to keep his team right in it when a miss might have been a huge blow to their hopes. Anozie was shoved to the ground on the ensuing possession and made one of two free throws to make it 69-67, but Azor grabbed the rebound of the miss and sliced to the rim to tie the game once again with 11.1 on the clock. Neither team called a timeout, so Octavio Brito inbounded to Mason Jean Baptiste, who rushed up the court before stopping and passing to Nate Siow with seven seconds to go. The shifty Owl point guard got around Azor and found Hunter for a huge alley-oop with three ticks left putting Keene State up 71-69, executing one of the biggest plays in recent program history, and KSC bothered Azor enough on his hurried triple in the final seconds to make sure it was well off the mark. With that, the Owls washed away the sting of four consecutive losses to UMass-Dartmouth, beat them for the second time in a championship game, and ending their 18-game home winning streak dating back to KSC's win there in the regular season last year. Courtesy of littleeast.com LEC Tournament Final: UMass Dartmouth - Keene State 69-71 LEC Tournament Semifinals: UMass Dartmouth - Plymouth State 98-86 Eastern Connecticut - Keene State 56-79 Tags : JAMES ANOZIE, KEENE STATE COLLEGE, NCAA3 BASKETBALL All-LEC Awards 2022 - Mar 2, 2022
All-Tournament MVP: James Anozie (6'6''-C) of Keene St. Player of the Year: Marcus Azor (6'2''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Azor (6'2''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Rookie of the Year: Octavio Brito (6'4''-G) of Keene St. Coach of the Year: Brian Baptiste of UMass Dartmouth
First Team Jeff Hunter (6'7''-F) of Keene St. Jake Ashworth (6'1''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Marcus Azor (6'2''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Adam Seablom (6'1''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Kyler Bosse (6'4''-G) of Plymouth St. Shion Darby (6'0''-PG) of Rhode Island Second Team Meikyle Murray (6'3''-G) of ECSU Jalen Williams (6'4''-G) of ECSU Charles Mitchell (5'10''-PG) of UMass Boston Keyshaun Jacobs (5'10''-PG) of Rhode Island Matthew Turner (6'4''-G) of W.Connecticut All-Defensive Team Max Lee (6'3''-G) of ECSU Jeff Hunter (6'7''-F) of Keene St. Malik Lorquet (6'5''-F) of UMass Boston Marcus Azor (6'2''-G) of UMass Dartmouth Cody Hawes (6'3''-G) of S.Maine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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