PLYMOUTH, N.H. – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team topped the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Corsairs, 70-65, in a Little East Conference (LEC) opening matchup at Foley Gymnasium on Wednesday night.
After falling behind by double digits early, the Panthers worked their way back into what became a LEC tug-of-war in a contest which saw four ties and 15 lead changes. The Panthers took the lead for good, 60-58, with 5:34 on the clock in the second half and staved off Corsairs to earn the team's first conference win of the season.
Senior
Elijah Swanson (Meredith, N.H.) led all scorers with 19 points, while junior
Torran Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) added 11 points of his own. Sophomore
Ivan Yen (Concord, N.H.) rounded out the scoring with ten points in the winning effort for the Panthers.
Plymouth State improves to 6-1 (1-0 LEC), while UMass Dartmouth falls to 2-4 (0-1 LEC).
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 70, UMass Dartmouth 65
- Plymouth State (6-1, 1-0 LEC)
- UMass Dartmouth (2-4, 0-1 LEC)
Top Performers:
How it Happened:
- The Corsairs opened on a 12-0 run in the first four minutes of the contest.
- Plymouth State worked its way back midway through the first half to take its first lead of the game, 25-24, with 8:36 remaining in the opening half.
- Behind a 10-2 run late in the first half, UMass Dartmouth jumped back ahead, 37-32, with under a minute to play before the break.
- Plymouth State knocked down the final bucket with 33 seconds on the clock to narrow the margin to 37-34 at halftime.
- Plymouth State climbed back in front, 49-45, with 13:16 left in regulation.
- The Corsairs registered nine unanswered points midway through the second half to retake the lead, 54-49.
- Back-to-back three-pointers catapulted the Panthers back on top, 57-56, with 6:31 remaining in the contest.
- As the game squeezed into late time, Plymouth State found itself up six-points (66-60) with 2:31 to go.
- Seconds later, UMD knocked down five-straight points to reduce the deficit to 66-65 as tensions grew at the 2:16 mark.
- Senior Kevin Henry (Stratham, N.H.) hit a layup with 24 seconds left to extend the margin to 68-65.
- UMass Dartmouth had an open look to tie the match, but the long-range effort hit iron and bounced out-of-bounds, giving Plymouth State possession. Henry comfortably knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the win.
By the Numbers:
- Plymouth State shot 44.6% (29-of-65) from the floor while holding the Corsairs to 35.3% shooting (24-of-68).
- PSU was an efficient 6-of-15 (40.0%) from beyond the arc, while UMD hit just eight three-pointers in 27 attempts.
- UMD held a 45-37 advantage on the boards, with a 20-14 advantage on the offensive glass.
- Plymouth State only led for six minutes before taking its final lead with 5:34 to go.
- The Panthers forced 17 turnovers while only giving away 12.
- Points in the paint went to PSU, 42-26.
- Plymouth State has won each of the last two matchups after losing the previous five contests.
- The Panthers have won four out of the last five meetings at home.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State remains home on Saturday (Dec. 7) in a LEC matchup against Western Connecticut State University. First tip is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. in Foley Gymnasium.
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