BOSTON, Mass. – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team fell to the University of Massachusetts Boston, 69-63, in Little East Conference (LEC) action on Friday evening.
 
The Panthers found themselves on the back end of playing four conference games in a seven-day span. A tough Beacons' defense limited PSU to 20 first-half points, but the Panthers came out inspired in the second half. Plymouth State rallied to cut the deficit to as few as four points late, but UMass Boston was able to hold PSU at arm's length in the end to seal the win.
 
Sophomore Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) led the way with 18 points, while junior Giorgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored eight of his own. Senior Devin Cooper (Newfield, N.Y.) added seven points and five rebounds in the losing effort.
 
Plymouth State falls to 8-9 (3-5 LEC) on the season, while UMass Boston improves to 9-9 and 5-5 in LEC play.
 
The Basics:

• Plymouth State 63, UMass Boston 69
  • Plymouth State (8-9, 3-5 LEC)
  • UMass Boston (9-9, 5-5 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Kyler Bosse (18 pts, 3 reb, 9-15 fg, 3 ast)
• Giorgi Tsiklauri (8 pts, 4 reb, 3-5 fg, 2-3 3pt)
• Devin Cooper (7 pts, 5 reb, 3-6 fg)

How it Happened:

• The Beacons took an early 5-0 lead before extending the advantage to ten points (23-13) at the 8:21 mark, leading to a Panthers' timeout.
• UMass Boston continued to pull away to close out the first half with a 36-20 lead.
• PSU started the second half inspired, taking a 9-2 run to get within eight points (45-37) with 14:14 on the clock.
• The Panthers continued to chip away at the lead, trimming the margin to five (51-46) at the 8:38 mark.
• UMB responded immediately, scoring seven straight points to make it 58-46 with 6:49 remaining, but PSU continued to fight, ultimately getting to within four points, 67-63, on a three from senior Dante Rivera (Lawrence, Mass.) with 11 seconds to go.
• The hosts were able to knock down key free throws to keep the Panthers at bay in the end.

By the Numbers:

• PSU shot 27-of-56 (48.2%) from the floor and 6-of-19 (31.6%) from three.
• UMB outrebounded the Panthers 42-23 and 15-6 on the offensive glass.
• The Beacons led by as many as 17 before the Panthers' furious second half comeback bid.
• Plymouth State's bench outscored the Beacons' reserves by a 21-11 margin.
• The Panthers had 12 assists to UMB's 11.
• Plymouth State had won two of the previous three meetings.

 
Up Next:

• Plymouth State hosts Rhode Island College on Monday (Jan. 31) as the teams jockey for postseason positioning. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

 
 
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