Providence, R.I.-Senior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) scored 17 points, while classmate guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, MA) chipped in 16 more, as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team notched a 68-53 victory over Little East foe Plymouth State at The Murray Center on Saturday afternoon.

Both teams struggled shooting the ball early with Plymouth State (5-10, 0-5 LEC) holding an 11-6 advantage after 10:29 had elapsed in the half. Rhode Island College (12-3, 4-1 LEC) chipped away with an offensive rebound and put-back from sophomore forward Terrance Tribble (White Plains, NY) with 8:28 to play knotted the score at 11 apiece.

The Panthers pushed their lead to five, 20-15, when sophomore forward Jack Preston (Nashua, NH) nailed a jumper off a feed from sophomore guard Nathan Clarke (Reading, MA). The Anchormen responded, and a jumper by Burton with 30 seconds left in the half put RIC up, 30-25, before a late jumper by PSU made the score 30-27 entering the half.  

The opening five minutes of the second half was the Burton show as the senior tallied 10 points to help push the RIC advantage to 14 points, 46-32, with 15:02 remaining. The Anchormen continued to put pressure on both ends of the court, pushing their lead to 15 with 9:27 to play. The Panthers cut the lead down to 10, but that is as close as they would get as the RIC defense buckled down and pushed the margin of victory to 15, 68-53.

The Panthers were led by Preston's game-high 21 points and four rebounds. Sophomore guard Curtis Arsenault (Berlin, NH) also scored in double figures, tossing in 10 in the defeat. The Panthers shot 41.7 percent (20-for-48) from the field, while shooting 27.3 percent (3-for-11) from behind the three-point arc and 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from the free throw line.

RIC was paced by Burton's 17 points and three steals, while Alleyne did it all, scoring 16 points, handing out eight assists and hauling in six rebounds. The Anchormen shot 46.2 percent (24-for-52) from the field and 38.9 percent (7-for-18) from three-point range for the game. They shot a scorching 86.7 percent (13-for-15) from the charity stripe as a team.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East Conference action at home against Western Connecticut on Tuesday, January 20 (7 p.m.).