Box Score PLYMOUTH, N.H. -- Senior Jaylen Leroy (Manchester, N.H.) scored 23 points, as Plymouth State overcame a nine-point halftime deficit and held on in the closing seconds to notch a 78-76 Little East Conference men's basketball victory over UMass Dartmouth Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.
The host Panthers (13-8, 7-5 LEC) trailed 48-39 at the break and saw the visiting Corsairs (13-8, 8-4 LEC) extend that margin to 10 points (59-49) on sophomore Adam Seablom's (Lakeville, Mass.) lay-in with 15:03 remaining. Plymouth State whittled its deficit to one (63-62) on Leroy's jumper six minutes later, and the hosts took the lead for good on sophomore Manny Alisandro's (Manchester, N.H.) lay-in with 5:35 to play. The Panthers built a pair of five-point advantages in the closing 1:39 of action before a Seablom three-pointer sliced UMass Dartmouth's deficit to one (75-74) with 58 ticks on the clock, and after exchanging missed jumpers, sophomore Dante Rivera (Methuen, Mass.) converted a pair of key free throws with four seconds to play to give Plymouth State a three-point cushion. Seablom followed with two free throws of his own that enabled the visitors to close back to a single point once again, but Leroy's charity stripe conversion accounted for the margin, as the Corsairs were unable to get off a tying attempt in the final two seconds of play.
Rivera added 13 points and five assists in the triumph for the Panthers, who received eight points and seven rebounds each from Alisandro and freshman Kevin Henry (Stratham, N.H.). Plymouth State shot 52 percent (33-63) from the field overall including a 55 percent clip in the final 20 minutes of play, as the host canned eight three-pointers to sweep the regular season series between the two schools.
Seablom finished with 17 points and five boards in the setback for UMass Dartmouth, which received a double-double effort of 16 points and 12 caroms from senior Harry Alexander (Washington, D.C.). Sophomore Matt Valles (Fairhaven, Mass.) was also in double figures with 11 points and five rebounds for the Corsairs, who collected eight points and five boards from freshman Taylor Carlson (Wareham, Mass.) along with seven points and five caroms from sophomore Sean Leahy (Hanson, Mass.). The visitors shot just 28 percent from the field in the second half despite holding an overall 45-27 edge on the glass for the day, as UMass Dartmouth converted 21 offensive rebounds into 29 second chance points.
Despite the result, the Corsairs remain tied atop the Little East standings with Western Connecticut, as the two squads hold a half game lead over Rhode Island College and a full game edge over both Plymouth State and UMass Boston.
UMass Dartmouth hosts Keene State in a Little East Conference matchup on Wednesday evening at the Tripp Athletic Center that tips-off at 7:00 pm, while Plymouth State travels to Gorham, Maine on Wednesday evening for a Little East outing with Southern Maine that tips-off at 7:30 pm.
