(Box Score) 

            BOSTON, Mass. - Senior Jason O'Keefe (Everett, Mass.) scored a game-high 15 points and the Plymouth State University defense held host University of Massachusetts Boston to under 35 percent shooting (17-49) Tuesday as the visitors came away with a 60-41 victory in a Little East Conference men's basketball tilt at the Clark Athletic Center. 

            Junior Tom Dowd (Portsmouth, N.H.) added 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds and classmate Ryan Lambert (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton) chipped in with 11 points off the bench as the Panthers won their third straight game and improved to 9-5 overall and 2-2 in LEC games.

            Junior Pat Joseph (Queens, N.Y.) scored 13 points and collected a game-high nine rebounds to lead the Beacons while sophomore Justin Favors (Mableton, Ga.) chipped in with 11 points as UMB fell to 3-11 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

            It was a 7-7 game early in the first half when PSU went on a 12-4 run, fueled by four three-pointers, to take a 23-11 advantage with 7:19 to go in the stanza.  The Beacons scored the next eight points to cut the deficit to 23-19 with 2:50 to play, before Plymouth State scored the final four points of the half to take a 29-21 lead into the break.

            The Panthers put together a 12-2 stretch early in the second session, paced by eight points from Dowd, to take a 41-26 bulge with 15:32 remaining in the contest.  The Beacons would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as Plymouth State maintained a 52-39 lead with 3:31 left in the game.  The Panthers scored eight of the final 10 points to secure the win in a second half that saw them hold UMass Boston to just 26.9 percent from the field.

            UMass Boston will be in action again on Thursday when it meets Bridgewater State College at 7:30 p.m., while the Panthers host LEC rival Rhode Island College on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. 

 (Courtesy of UMass Boston Sports Information) 

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