Panthers get double-doubles from Dowd and Lambert

              PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth outscored Plymouth State University 7-1 in a key stretch in the last two minutes of the game Saturday afternoon, and the Corsairs went on to defeat the Panthers, 76-73, in the Little East Conference men's basketball opener for both schools at Foley Gymnasium.

              With the score tied at 69-all with 2:24 remaining, junior Colin Burns (Chepachet, R.I.) drained a three-pointer for UMD, and classmate Alex Klepaldo (Bernardston, Mass.) added a jumper to put the Corsairs up by five with 1:23 on the clock.  After a Panther free throw, UMD senior Kyle Yeadon (Hanson, Mass.) hit a lay-up to give UMD a six-point margin, 76-70, with 45 seconds remaining.

              PSU senior Ian Dempsey (Andover, Mass.) hit a three-pointer from the corner with 28 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit in half, but that ended up as all of the scoring and UMD held on for the three-point win.  The Corsairs stopped a three-game losing skid and improved to 2-3 overall and 1-0 in the LEC, while PSU falls to 3-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

              Burns led the Corsairs with 19 points, canning 4-of-7 from three-point range, while senior Brandon Stephens (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 16 points and Klepaldo chipped in with 11.  Junior Paul Rose (Boston, Mass.) wound up with seven points and seven assists.

              Seniors Tom Dowd (Portsmouth, N.H.) and Ryan Lambert (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton) both posted double-doubles for the Panthers, Dowd making 8-of-10 field goal attempts and finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Lambert ended up with 12 points, a game-high 15 boards and six assists.  Dempsey also matched Dowd with a team-high 16 points and junior Brian Chergey (Bow, N.H.) chipped in with 13 points.

              Plymouth State, playing its first home game after five away from Foley Gym, came out strong in front of the home fans, scoring the first seven points of the game.  UMD kept the score close, tying the game on several occasions in the first half but not taking the lead.  The Panthers, behind 6-of-6 shooting by Dowd, went into the locker room at halftime with a 30-24 advantage.

              Chergey drained a three to open the second half as PSU opened up its largest lead of the game, 33-24, but the Corsairs countered with 10 unanswered points to take their first lead of the day.  Neither team lead by more than five points until the final minute, when the Corsairs pulled away.

              Plymouth State closes out the semester with three road games next week, non-conference games Tuesday and Thursday at Tufts and Lyndon State, respectively, and an LEC match-up Saturday at Eastern Connecticut.  UMD returns home for three games next week, hosting Worcester State and Tufts in non-conference games on Tuesday and Thursday and Western Connecticut in an LEC contest next Saturday. 

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