Burt, Nwokeji top Panthers as rally falls short

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Senior Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points Tuesday evening as the University of Massachusetts Boston held off Plymouth State University, 78-65, in a Little East Conference men's basketball contest at Foley Gymnasium.

            Plymouth State fought from behind the entire second half, trailing by as many as 13 points and looking at a 10-point deficit with just over four minutes remaining. The Panthers got the margin down to six points with three minutes to go after baskets by sophomore Ernie Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) and senior Alex Burt (Dover, N.H.), and again a minute later after a layup by junior Uche Nwokeji (Lynn, Mass.).

            PSU was forced to foul down the stretch, and the Beacons made 10 of 12 free throw attempts in the final 1:41 to preserve the win. UMB snaps its 19-game LEC losing streak, improving to 9-4 overall and 1-3 in conference play. The Panthers dropped to 5-9 overall and winless in four LEC games.

            Joseph made 10-of-17 field goal attempts for the evening for UMB, while juniors Karl Agenor (Dorchester, Mass.) and Mike Campbell (Boston, Mass.) added 15 and 13 points, respectively. Agenor also collected a team-high seven rebounds and four assists.

            Burt finished with 18 points, four assists and three steals for the Panthers, while Nwokeji was one rebound shy of a double-double with 17 points and nine boards, converting 7-of-10 from the floor. Sophomore Jack Preston (Nashua, N.H.) also contributed nine points in 16 minutes of playing time.

            It was anyone's contest in the first half, with the game tied five times and seven lead changes. UMB held a two-point advantage when Joseph tossed in six straight points to push the margin up to eight, 35-27, with a minute to play. Sophomore Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) scored for UMB but Nwokeji answered with a three-point play with seconds remaining to make it 35-30 at the break in favor of the visitors.

            UMB opened the second half with a 10-2 run in the first two minutes to extend the margin to 13 points, 45-32. Nwokeji answered with consecutive baskets for PSU and Johnson added a layup to get the deficit back to seven points. The margin see-sawed between five and 10 points until PSU got within six with three minutes to go.

            PSU plays again Saturday in a Little East matchup at Rhode Island College while UMass Boston returns to action Thursday night when it hosts intra-state rival Bridgewater State University.

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