Preston's career-high 31 points not enough in LEC loss

            PLYMOUTH, N.H. – In a back-and-forth battle that saw 12 ties and 19 lead changes, the University of Massachusetts-Boston men's basketball team scored the final five points of double overtime, all from the free throw line, to slip past Plymouth State University, 94-90, in a Little East Conference (LEC) marathon game Wednesday evening at Foley Gymnasium.

            Senior Jack Preston (Nashua, N.H.) set a career-high with 31 points (10-of-17), while pulling down 10 rebounds and adding four blocked shots in the losing effort.  PSU trailed 76-73 after freshman Alex Sanchez (Salem, Mass.) hit one-of-two free throws for the Beacons with 22 seconds left in regulation.  After a Panther timeout, senior Curtis Arsenault (Berlin, N.H.) sent the home crowd into a frenzy as he banked a fall-away three-pointer from the right wing to even the score at 76-76.

            Neither team led by more than two points during the first overtime and with the score knotted at 83-83 in the final minute of the extra period each had an offensive possession and came up short.  The Panthers pulled ahead by three, 88-85, midway through the second overtime and led 90-89 after a put-back by sophomore Mike Osgood (Nashua, N.H.) with just over a minute to play, but the Beacons were able to secure the win from the charity stripe.

THE BASICS

  Foley Gymnasium, Plymouth, N.H. – Wed., Jan. 11, 2017

  Plymouth State 90, UMass Boston 94 (2 OT)

  Records:

  Plymouth State 7-6 (1-3 LEC); UMass Boston 10-4 (3-1 LEC)

PSU LEADERS

  * Preston … game and career-high 31 points (10-of-17), 10 rebounds, four blocks in 21 minutes

  * Osgood … 15 points, four rebounds, three assists

  * Junior Max Coleman (Londonderry, N.H.) … 13 points (5-of-8), four rebounds

  * Arsenault … 11 points, five assists, three rebounds

UMB LEADERS

  * Senior Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) … 28 points, eight rebounds

  * Sanchez … 17 points

  * Freshman Ty Lee (Boston, Mass.) … 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists

  * Junior Iser Barnes (Boston, Mass.) … 14 points, three rebounds, three steals

BY THE NUMBERS

  * PSU shot 46.5% (33-of-71) from the field, while UMB finished at 44.8% (30-of-67) from the floor.

  * The Panthers drained eight shots from beyond the arc (8-of-17), while the Beacons finished four-of-eight from long range.

  * UMB owned a decided advantage from the free throw line.  Plymouth finished 16-of-24 (66.7%), while the visitors were 30-of-41 (73.2%).

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Half:

  * The Beacons went up 14-13 after a layup from Lee midway through the opening half.

  * UMB maintained the lead, going up 33-26 after two free throws from senior Careem Kirksey (Dorchester, Mass.) with 2:38 left in the half.

  * The Panthers answered with seven straight points with Arsenault tying the score at 33-33 following a turnaround jumper from the baseline.

  * Freshman Dasan Cinelli (Boston, Mass.) connected on one-of-two free throws in the final minute to give the Beacons a slight 34-33 edge at intermission.

Second Half:

  * UMass-Boston held a five point lead through the first seven minutes of the second half.

  * Coleman nailed a triple from the right corner off an inbounds play to cut the Panther deficit to 49-45 with 12:38 left to play. 

  * A technical foul on the Beacon bench led to two free throws for Arsenault, making it a two point game (49-47) less than a minute later.

  * Senior Ernie Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) sank a triple from the right wing to cut the Beacons lead to 55-54 with 8:25 to play, and, after a PSU defensive stop, Coleman hit a floater across the lane to put the Panthers in front 56-55.

  * A behind-the-back pass from Osgood led to a Preston dunk to make it 60-59 but UMB answered with a 5-1 spurt to pull ahead.

  * Sanchez hit one-of-two from the charity stripe to put the Beacons in front 76-73 with 22 seconds to go, setting up Arsenault's overtime-forcing three-pointer.

First OT:

  * Lee put the Beacons up with a runner in the lane to open the overtime period, but Preston answered at the other end.

  * The teams traded baskets and each had a possession with the score knotted at 83-83 in the final minute, but neither could score.

Second OT:

  * Freeman hit from inside on the opening possession of double overtime for the Beacons, but Preston countered at the other end.

  * Following a UMB turnover, Preston hit from inside and then connected on one-of-two free throws to give PSU an 88-85 lead with 2:26 remaining.

  * Preston picked up his fifth foul with just over two minute left and the Beacons took advantage pulling ahead 89-88 with 1:46 to play.

  * Osgood gave PSU its last lead, 90-89, with just over a minute to go, but UMB answered making five-of-six free throws to take the 94-90 win.

NEXT UP

  * PSU will head to Western Connecticut State University on Saturday for a key LEC match-up.  Game time is slated for 3:00 p.m.

  * The Beacons are also back in action Saturday as they play host to LEC foe Eastern Connecticut State University at 3:00 p.m.

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