PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – The reigning Little East Rookie of the Year returned home with another standout performance. Former Lincoln All-Stater Octavio Brito is leading the nation’s No. 6 team in scoring with 21.8 points per game, fourteenth best in Division III.
“You typically see a pretty big jump from your freshman to sophomore year, but Octavio’s made a huge leap,” said Keene State basketball coach Ryan Cain. “He is quite possibly an All-American as a sophomore. It’s just incredible the things he does for our program, the impact he has as a player statistically, but his impact goes way beyond that. As a leader, he’s an incredible person, extremely engaging individual, that our guys rally around.”
“This is great, but I didn’t imagine it,” Brito said. “I was coming to Keene to get better and it just came along with all the success.”
The Owls took home their fifth Little East tournament title last winter and made their seventh NCAA tournament appearance. Their deep roster gives them the belief that they can repeat those feats and make a run at the first Final Four in school history.
“Our goal is to win a National Championship, so we’ve got to stick to our process every day,” Brito said.
“Our goal is more than going there and playing one good game. We want to play our best basketball and if someone is going to beat us, they are going to have to earn it,” Cain said. “Last year, I’m not sure we played our best game after winning in the first round. Our goal is to play our best basketball and see if we can make a run with the great players and leaders we have in our locker room. Obviously, Octavio is going to be one of the centerpieces of that.”
