KEENE, N.H. – For the second straight game Plymouth State University was locked in a tight battle in the closing minute, and for the second straight time the Panthers came up just short, falling to Keene State College in a nail-biter, 74-73, in Little East Conference (LEC) men's basketball action at Spaulding Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.
 
PSU trailed by 12 with seven minutes to play, but the Panthers slowly chipped away. Junior Dante Rivera's (Methuen, Mass.) deep three made it a one-possession game, 72-69, with 35 seconds left, and Plymouth State forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play. Rivera's free throw cut the margin to two, 72-70.
 
Keene missed an opportunity to extend the lead at the charity stripe and Plymouth State had a chance at a go-ahead three, but the shot was just short. After a quick foul, the Owls were better from the line to make it 74-70, before Rivera drained another three as time expired to account for the final score.
 
Plymouth State falls to 0-2 (0-2 LEC), while Keene State moves to 2-0 (2-0 LEC).
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 73, Keene State 74
  • Plymouth State (0-2, 0-2 LEC)
  • Keene State (2-0, 2-0 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Plymouth State
  • Dante Rivera (16 pts, 3-5 3-pt, 8 asst)
  • Tom Johnson (14 pts, 4 reb)
• Keene State
  • Nate Siow (17 pts, 6 reb)
  • James Anozie (13 pts, 11 reb)

How it Happened:

• The Owls held the lead for much of the first half, going up 22-13 on Anozie's free throw with 8:35 before the break.
• PSU rallied with a 12-3 run over the next four minutes, and junior Manny Alisandro (Manchester, N.H.) drained a three from the right wing to put the Panthers in front, 25-24.
• Keene knotted the score at 26-26, but PSU closed out the half with eight straight points to take a 34-26 lead into halftime.
• The two teams went back-and-forth to open the second half, with PSU holding a narrow 47-46 lead with 11:38 remaining. The hosts rallied, though, surging ahead with a 16-2 spurt to go in front 61-49 with 7:03 left on the clock.
• Plymouth State slowly chipped away, as Rivera's three made it 66-59 with 5:24 to play.
• Sophomore Tom Johnson (Warner, N.H.) sank a pair of free throws to pull the Panthers to within four, 70-66, with 2:35 remaining. The score stayed the same until Siow made a difficult layup in traffic with less than a minute to go.
• Rivera hit from well beyond the arc to cut the deficit in half, though, and the Panthers forced a turnover on the ensuing inbounds play. Rivera drew a foul and hit one-of-two from the stripe to make it 72-70.
• After a quick foul, Keene missed the front end of a 1-and-1 and junior Manny Sanchez (Lawrence, Mass.) grabbed the loose ball. Rivera drove through traffic, then kicked it out for a go-ahead triple, but the shot went off the iron and KSC came up with the rebound.
• Siow sealed the game with a pair of free throws with 0.7 left to play, before Rivera's three at the buzzer.

By the Numbers:

• Sanchez finished with nine points, six rebounds and two steals, while Alisandro chipped in with seven points and three boards.
• The Owls owned a 43-31 advantage on the boards.
• PSU kept the Keene reserves scoreless in the first half and the Panthers held a 23-16 edge in bench points.
• Each of the last three meetings have been decided by six points or less, with the previous two going to overtime.

Up Next:

• The Panthers are off until next Saturday (Feb. 13), when they visit Rhode Island College for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off.