Box Score DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a 23-point night from Plymouth State senior Kyler Bosse, the UMass Dartmouth men's basketball team fell to Plymouth State, 59-62, in Little East action on Saturday in Plymouth, N.H. The loss saw the Corsairs move to 10-9 overall and 7-3 in the LEC. Meanwhile the Panthers improve to 6-14 overall with a 2-9 mark in conference play.
The Panthers held a 33-31 lead after the opening half of play, led by a 12-point half from senior Kyler Bosse. The Corsairs led for the majority of the first half, but a 10-1 run by Plymouth State gave them the one-point lead entering the halftime break.
After falling behind 32-35 with 18:04 to go in the second half, UMass Dartmouth began a 9-2 run to claim a 41-37 lead with 13:59 on the clock. At the 10-minute mark, the Corsairs went on another run capped off by a driving layup by sophomore
Nic Boyd and then a three-pointer from senior
Jayquan Leonard. UMD took a nine-point lead after a lay-in by senior
Michael Eurquhart Jr. with 9:51 left.
UMass Dartmouth led, 52-43, with 9:15 to go when Plymouth State began a run that turned the tides of the contest. The Panthers went on a 15-0 run over the next five minutes of play, taking a 58-53 advantage with just 4:18 remaining. UMass Dartmouth sophomore
John Marcille ended the drought with two free throws, before another Eurquhart layup brought them back within two with 3:37 on the clock.
Both squads amped up the defensive pressure in the closing minutes. The game saw no field goals made for 2:24 of game time, until freshman Ivan Yen put Plymouth State up by three points with 1:10 remaining. Fifth-year UMD senior
Jackson Zancan sunk a layup with 37 seconds left to bring the Corsairs back within one. On the defensive side of the ball, UMD needed a stop but ended up putting Bosse back on the free throw line. Bosse went 2-2 in the biggest moment, giving PSU a three-point lead with 10 seconds left. UMAss Dartmouth was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer and fell, 59-62, in Plymouth.
The Panthers were unable to find success from the three-point line throughout the contest, going 1 for 6 from deep (10.0%). UMass Dartmouth out-paced the Warriors in three categories; Points Off Turnovers (20-17), Points in the Paint (34-30) and Fast Break Points (12-5). The Panthers outscored UMD on 2
nd Chance Opportunities (17-11).
Plymouth State, paced throughout by Bosse, saw the senior guard score a game-high 23 points with five rebounds and five assists. No other Panther scored in double-figures, but they saw junior Elijah Swanson record nine points, five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.
UMass Dartmouth was paced by Lopes's 13 points. Leonard was the only other Corsair to score in double-figures with 10 points and made both of his three-point attempts. Aside from Leonard, the Corsairs struggled from deep, shooting a season-low 3-for-15 (20.0%). Eurquhart and Boyd each scored nine points for UMD, with Eurquhart collecting nine boards as well.
The Corsairs return to the Tripp Athletic Center on Wednesday, hosting Rhode Island College in LEC action. Tipoff is set for 7:30pm.
