(Box Score) 

            NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's basketball team built a 16-point halftime lead en route to an 86-70 victory over visiting Plymouth State University Saturday in the second game of a Little East Conference doubleheader at the Tripp Athletic Center.

            Plymouth State had its five-game winning streak stopped and fell to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in conference play, while UMD improved to 12-5 overall and 5-3 in the Little East.  The two teams split this season's series with the home team winning each game.

            Junior Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, Mass.) led all scorers with 23 points for the Corsairs, while sophomore Lance Greene (Dorchester, Mass.) added 21 and sophomore Alex Klepadlo (Bernardston, Mass.) contributed 19.

            Senior Jason O'Keefe (Everett, Mass.) topped the Panthers with 20 points while classmate Mike Chergey (Bow, N.H.) contributed 10 points. Senior Bryan Tracy (Manchester, N.H./Central) collected a team-high eight rebounds as Plymouth State out rebounded UMD, 38-35.

            The Corsairs scored the first eight points of the game and raced to a 19-4 advantage. Stephens got the run going with a pair of lay-ups and a three-pointer, and Greene contributed a pair of free throws and a dunk. PSU to cut the lead to 10 points at 19-9, but a 17-6 UMass Dartmouth streak made it 36-15 with 3:32 left in the first half.

            The Corsairs built a 21-point advantage early in the second half, and the Panthers never came closer than 14 after that.  UMD converted 56 percent from the field to 40.6 percent for Plymouth State.

            Both teams play LEC games at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, UMass Dartmouth visiting Rhode Island College and Plymouth State returning home to host rival Keene State. 

(Courtesy of UMass Dartmouth Sports Information) 

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