Box Score KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State Owls used dominating post play to defeat the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball squad in Little East Conference play on Saturday, remaining undefeated by final tally of 103-84.
With 56 points in the paint, the Owls, now 6-0, more than doubled the Corsairs' total in the same category. Five Keene State players hit double-figures, led by sophomore Dizel Wright's (Springfield, Mass.) 27 points and junior Matt Ozzella's (Medway, Mass.) 12-point, 18-rebound double-double.
For UMass Dartmouth, senior Jordan Rezendes (Onset, Mass.) again led all scorers on the day with 31 points and also paced the game with seven assists.
The first half exhibited a close affair throughout, with both teams trading leads for the first seven minutes. Keene State then gained steady control, rattling off 17 points to UMass Dartmouth's nine over the next four minutes. During the run, Keene State's Jeff Lunn (Nashua, N.H.) registered six of his 10 points on the afternoon with three straight layups. With help from the bench's 16 first-half points, the Owls owned a 49-41 advantage at halftime.
Keene State then built a comfortable lead which it would hold throughout the second stanza. The Owls used an 8-0 run, including a dunk from Wright, to open the half and up the lead to 19.
Following over two minutes of scoreless basketball, the Corsairs mounted a small comeback, using two 3-pointers from Jon Robinson (Chatham, Mass.) and an additional long-range bucket from Atakan Akcam (Hoosac Falls, N.Y.) to put the game within 10.
The Owls' post play and 12-of-16 foul shooting proved too much in the end as Keene built the lead back to hover around 20 for the 12 minutes.
Junior Jahleel Moise (Brockton, Mass.) put forth a solid outing for the Corsairs, recording 12 points with seven boards. Abi Akanni (Fitchburg, Mass.) added 11 points, while Nick Portelance (Fairhaven, Mass.) led UMass Dartmouth with 11 rebounds.
UMass Dartmouth will see a two-week hiatus before taking the court next in Miami, Fla. for the Holiday Slam Tournament. The Corsairs will face Eastern in the opening round on Dec. 19.
