(Box Score) 

            DANBURY, Conn. - Sophomore DaQuan Brooks (Bristol, Conn.) scored 16 of his team-high 21 points in the second half Saturday afternoon to lead the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team over Little East Conference rival Plymouth State University, 83-74, at Feldman Arena.

            Also scoring in double figures for WestConn were sophomore Gary Robinson (Torrington, Conn.) who had 13 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and junior Will Jarrett (Hartford, Conn.) who scored 11.  Brooks led the Colonials with eight assists.

            Junior Ryan Lambert (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton) led all scorers for PSU, matching his career-high with 29 points.  Senior Jason O'Keefe (Everett, Mass.) scored 15 points, while Mike Chergey (Bow, N.H.) added 14 points and six rebounds.

            WestConn outscored Plymouth State from the free throw line 30-10. WestConn improves to 16-4 on the season and 7-3 in the Little East, while PSU is now 13-8 overall and 5-5 in the LEC.

            Sophomore center Leroy Mayers (Bronx, NY) gave WestConn its largest lead of the first half on a layup at the 11:49 mark, to make the margin six, 17-11.  Plymouth State battled back quickly to tie the game at 17-17 on a 3-pointer by O'Keefe.  A layup by Lambert at the 6:38 mark gave the Panthers a 21-20 lead, but the Colonials pulled away in the closing minutes of the first half to take a 35-29 lead into the locker room.

            WestConn dominated play over the first 10 minutes of the second half as the Colonials pulled away to a 62-41 lead.  Plymouth State however, kept fighting for every point, and Lambert (who scored only five points in the first half) began to heat up.  Outscoring the Colonials 33-16 over the next eight minutes, PSU pulled within four points, 78-74, with 39 seconds remaining in the game.  Free throws by Brooks and Robinson pushed the WestConn lead back to eight, 82-74, as Plymouth State was forced to foul down the stretch and the Colonials hung on for the victory.

            Both teams play LEC games again on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., the Colonials traveling to LEC rival Rhode Island College and PSU returning home to host Southern Maine at Foley Gymnasium. 

 (Courtesy of Western Conn. Sports Information) 

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