Alisandro's double-double, Henry's big game lead to LEC win 

            CASTLETON, Vt. – Sophomore Manny Alisandro (Manchester, N.H.) posted a double-double, while freshman Kevin Henry (Stratham, N.H.) stuffed the box score as Plymouth State University snapped a two-game skid with an impressive 74-50 win over Castleton University in a Little East Conference (LEC) men's basketball game at Glenbrook Gymnasium on Thursday night.

            Alisandro notched 16 points and 11 rebounds for his first double-double since before Thanksgiving, while Henry added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals to spark the Panthers. Senior Jaylen LeRoy (Manchester, N.H.) nailed a pair of three-pointers to help erase an early 5-0 deficit and PSU would lead the rest of the way to pick up its first conference win of the year.

            Plymouth State evens its record at 6-6 and goes to 1-3 in league play, while Castleton drops its 10th straight game to fall to 1-12 and 0-4 in LEC contests.

            The Basics:

            Plymouth State 74, Castleton 50

            Plymouth State (6-6, 1-3 LEC)

            Castleton (1-12, 0-4 LEC)

            How it Happened.

• Castleton held a 5-0 lead after the first 3:46, but LeRoy drained back-to-back triples as part of a 9-0 spurt to put the Panthers in front at the midpoint of the first half.
• The Spartans pulled within two, 13-11, two minutes later, but PSU answered with a 16-2 surge over the next six minutes. Henry tallied six points in the run.
• The hosts stopped the streak with a three-pointer and a pair of Castleton free throws made the Plymouth State advantage 29-18 at the half.
• PSU maintained a double-digit lead in the second half, with Alisandro scoring a put back after an offensive rebound to make it 35-22 three minutes into the second half.
• Sophomore Dante Rivera (Methuen, Mass.) and LeRoy each connected from beyond the arc as the lead grew to 47-21 with 11 minutes to play, and Henry netted six straight points to help push the advantage to 21, 54-33, four minutes later.
• Freshman Cody Graham (Rye, N.H.) got hot from distance as he connected on a pair of three pointers and classmate Georgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) capped the scoring from long range to account for the 74-50 final.

            Inside the Numbers:

• LeRoy led four Panthers in double figures with a game-high 17 points, including four trifectas.
• Alisandro went 7-of-8 from the floor for his 16 points, while Henry went 6-of-8 from the field on his way to career highs in points, rebounds, steals and assists.
• Graham was the fourth Panther in double digits with 12 points while adding a game-high eight assists to go with three boards and three steals.
• PSU shot 48.4% from the field (30-of-62) and assisted on 21 of 30 made baskets.
• The Panthers owned a slight, 33-30 edge on the glass and turned 20 Castleton turnovers into 27 points.

            Up Next:

• The Panthers return home to host Eastern Connecticut on Saturday (Jan. 11) at 3:00 p.m.

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