PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Right after senior
Marcus Azor put UMass Dartmouth up, 74-72, with five seconds left, Plymouth State's Kyler Bosse raced down the court and heaved up a contested running three that hit nothing but net, lifting the Panthers to a 75-74 win Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.
The Corsairs (19-3, 11-2 LEC) see their 12-game winning streak come to an end and drop a contest for the first time since their Little East Conference opener at Eastern Connecticut on Dec. 8. All three UMassD losses have been on the road this season. Senior
Adam Seablom led the team with 20 points, Azor finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists, junior
Jackson Zancan had 13 points and eight boards and senior
Sean Leahy notched 11 points.
The Panthers (14-9, 9-5) have now beaten each of the top three teams in the LEC. They defeated Eastern Connecticut at home (78-73), Keene State on the road (68-56) and now UMass Dartmouth. Four players scored in double figures for Plymouth. Freshman Yansel Reyes was the leader with 15 points, while Bosse had 13 and five rebounds. Both Reyes and Bosse came off the bench.
It was neck-and-neck all game as their were 13 ties and 11 lead changes during the 40 minutes. The largest lead in the first for the Corsairs was six points after a pair of baskets by Zancan put them up 22-16, at the 9:31 mark of the half. The Panthers responded with an 11-0 run with three consecutive 3-pointers to take their biggest lead of five points, 27-22, 5:50 until halftime. Seablom then knocked down a three and Azor buried a jumper to even the score as the teams traded baskets until it was a 35-35 game at the break.
UMass Dartmouth took a seven-point advantage, 49-42, with 14:30 to go after baskets by Seablom, Leahy and a three by Ashworth. It took less than three minutes for the Panthers to go on a 10-2 run of their own and take a 52-51 lead with 11:52 remaining.
Plymouth then took a five-point lead until Ashworth drained a three, Seablom hit a jumper, Azor flushed a dunk, and sophomore
Mike Eurquhart scored in the paint to make it a 63-58 Corsair advantage with 6:38 left. The Panthers eventually tied the score at 65 and the lead changed five more times in the final 3:56.
After Seablom buried a clutch three to make it a 72-70 advantage, Plymouth tied the game with 17 seconds to go. Coming out of a timeout, Azor dribbled to the left side and drilled a turnaround jumper that looked to be the game winner. Bosse then took it the length of the court and his 3-point heave was good at the buzzer.
The Corsairs look to exact their revenge on the Panthers on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Tripp Athletic Center.
