December 7, 2022

MBB: First half surge pushes #8 Keene State past Panthers

KEENE, N.H. – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team fell to #8 Keene State College, 95-65, in a Little East Conference (LEC) game in Spaulding Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

It seemed as though the Owls could not miss in the first half as the hosts knocked down ten three-pointers and shot near a 50% clip from the floor. Plymouth State displayed a strong second half, running stride-for-stride with the nationally-ranked Owls in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.

Four Panthers finished in double figures as senior Giorgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the way with 18 points while sophomore Elijah Swanson (Meredith, N.H.) added 13 points of his own. Junior Rylan Canabano (Concord, N.H.) posted the first double-digit game of his career with 11 points, while classmate Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) also had 11 in the losing effort.

Plymouth State slips to 6-4 (0-2 LEC), while Keene State, ranked #8 in this week's D3hoops.com Poll, stays unbeaten at 9-0 (2-0 LEC).

The Basics:

• Plymouth State 65, #8 Keene State 95
  • Plymouth State (6-4, 0-2 LEC)
  • Keene State (9-0, 2-0 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Giorgi Tsiklauri (18 pts, 7-14 fg, 2-5 3pt, 5 reb, 3 ast)
• Elijah Swanson (13 pts, 5-12 fg, 3-5 3pt, 3 reb, 6 ast)
• Rylan Canabano (11 pts, 4-5 fg, 3-3 3pt, 2 reb, 1 stl)
• Kyler Bosse (11 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 blk)

How it Happened:

• Keene State came out fast, knocking down multiple three-pointers in the opening minutes to take an early 11-4 lead.
• Behind a 9-0 run, the Owls bolstered the advantage to 21-8 at the 11:48 mark in the first half.
• Keene State could not miss in the opening half, knocking down three more triples in the span of a minute to take a 41-13 advantage with 4:03 remaining in the half.
• The Panthers were able to double their score over the final 3:37 but found themselves down 54-26 heading into the locker room.
• PSU managed an 11-3 spurt midway through the second half but still trailed by a sizeable margin.
• The Panthers played a strong second half, being outscored by just two (41-39), but the first half deficit deemed too much for PSU to come back from.

By the Numbers:

• The Panthers went 23-of-62 (37.1%) from the floor and 9-of-19 (47.4%) from beyond the arc.
• Keene State held a 51-30 edge on the boards, including 17-6 on the offensive glass.
• The Owls led throughout.
• Plymouth State committed just 13 turnovers to the Owls' 11.
• PSU's bench scored 12 of the team's points.
• Points in the paint were close to even, with the Owls holding a slight 26-24 edge.
• The teams split last season's series, but Keene State has had the upper hand of late, winning seven of the last nine meetings.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State visits Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday (Dec. 10) for another LEC contest. Opening tip is set for 3:00 p.m.

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