PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team fell to Eastern Connecticut State University, 79-75, in a Little East Conference (LEC) contest at Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.
Plymouth State held a 14-point advantage at one point, but the Warriors used a second half surge to take a late lead they would not relinquish. Plymouth State knocked down clutch three-pointers in the closing minutes to make it a one possession game, but the Warriors sank all ten free throw attempts over the final 48 seconds to ice the win.
Junior
Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) led the Panthers with 24 points, while sophomore
Elijah Swanson (Meredith, N.H.) and senior
Giorgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 12 points apiece. Junior
Kevin Henry (Stratham, N.H.) added 10 points in his first game back from injury in the losing effort.
Plymouth State falls to 8-12 (1-10 LEC), while the Warriors improve to 9-11 and 6-5 in conference play.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 75, Eastern Connecticut 79
- Plymouth State (8-12, 1-10 LEC)
- Eastern Connecticut (9-11, 6-5 LEC)
Top Performers:
- Kyler Bosse (24 pts, 9-21 fg, 9 reb)
- Elijah Swanson (12 pts, 5-8 fg, 2-3 3pt, 6 reb)
- Giorgi Tsiklauri (12 pts, 2-5 3pt, 3 reb, 3 ast)
- Kevin Henry (10 pts, 5-8 fg, 7 reb)
How it Happened:
- The teams traded buckets to start the contest knotted at 15-15 after the first 6:49 of action.
- Plymouth State erupted with a 13-0 run to go ahead, 28-15, with 7:05 left on the clock until the half.
- The Warriors cut the deficit to five, 36-31, with 2:50 to play.
- The Panthers took a 41-33 lead into the locker room.
- Eastern Connecticut opened the second half with a 10-2 run to pull within 45-43.
- The Warriors completed the comeback behind an 11-1 run to go up 56-51 with 10:50 remaining.
- Plymouth State managed just one field goal during a seven-minute drought as the visitors took an eight point lead, 65-57, with just over five minutes to play.
- PSU closed the gap behind clutch threes from Swanson and Tsiklauri to pull within 75-73 with 14 seconds to play, but Eastern Connecticut continued to knock down free throws to hold on for the win.
By the Numbers:
- The Panthers went 29-of-70 (41.4%) from the floor and 11-of-26 (42.3%) from three.
- Plymouth State held a 38-29 advantage on the boards, including 14-4 on the offensive glass.
- The rebounding advantage helped the Panthers attempt 18 more field goals than the Warriors.
- Eastern Connecticut took 23 free throws compared to Plymouth State's seven.
- Points in the paint were even at 28-28.
- The Panthers have lost three straight and 10-of-11 meetings with Eastern Connecticut.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State travels to Castleton on Wednesday (Feb. 1) for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff against the Spartans.
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