HENNIKER, N.H. – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team defeated the New England College Pilgrims in a non-conference game, 85-66, in Bridges Gym Thursday night.
Plymouth State was ahead start-to-finish, leading by as many as 27-points as the team cruised to its third straight win. The 3-0 start is the Panthers' best since the 2015-16 team opened the year with an 8-0 record.
Three Panthers recorded double-digit scoring, as senior
Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) led all scorers with 26 points. Graduate student
Giorgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 16 points of his own, with sophomore
Torran Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) scoring 13 points in the winning effort for the Panthers.
Bosse now sits with 916 career points as the quest to become Plymouth State's 35th 1000-point scorer draws ever closer.
The Panthers improve to 3-0 on the season, while New England College falls to 0-3.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 85, New England College 66
- Plymouth State (3-0)
- New England College (0-3)
Top Performers:
- Kyler Bosse (26 pts, 9-16 fg, 4 reb)
- Giorgi Tsiklauri (16 pts, 5-11 fg, 5-10 3pt)
- Torran Bosworth (13 pts, 5-9 fg, 2-4 3pt, 4 ast)
- Elijah Swanson (9 pts, 4-6 fg, 1-1 3pt, 5 reb, 3 blk)
- Christian Barr (7 reb)
How it Happened:
- The Panthers opened with a 10-2 run with 16:28 left in the first half.
- Plymouth State took its first double-digit lead, 15-4, at the 15:30 mark.
- The Pilgrims stormed back, cutting the deficit to three points (20-17) at the midpoint of the first.
- PSU pulled away for a second time, going back up by 10-points (31-21) with 6:36 on the clock.
- The Panthers maintained a comfortable 42-29 heading into the locker room.
- Plymouth extended the lead early in the second half, as a Bosworth three-pointer put the Panthers up 60-38 only five minutes into the second half.
- The Pilgrims managed to cut the deficit to 12 points with 8:00 remaining in the contest but would get no closer as Plymouth State walked off with a comfortable win.
By the Numbers:
- PSU shot an efficient 30-of-61 (49.2%) from the floor, and 10-of-26 (38.5%) from three.
- The Pilgrims outrebounded Plymouth State overall, 41-37, and 12-11 on the offensive glass.
- NEC's bench outscored the Panthers' reserves, 29-21.
- Plymouth State scored 31 points off turnovers, to the Pilgrim's 14.
- The Panthers scored 12 fast break points to NEC's two.
- Plymouth State led for 99.3% of the contest and never trailed.
- It was the first win for the Panthers in Henniker since the 1994-95 season. PSU had beaten the Pilgrims in five-straight neutral site contests between 2001 and 2009.
- Plymouth State is now 20-5 in the all-time head-to-head matchup dating back to 1986.
Up Next:
- The Panthers will stay on the road as they head to Chicopee, Mass. to face Elms College on Saturday (Nov. 18) afternoon. Tipoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in the Picknelly Arena.
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