January 4, 2023

MBB: Panthers nipped at Southern Maine

GORHAM, Maine – The Plymouth State University men's basketball team fell to the University of Southern Maine, 62-57, in a Little East Conference (LEC) game at Warren G. Hill Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

The Panthers led for most of the contest, but USM took advantage of a cold streak in the final minutes to hold on for a narrow victory.

Junior Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) led all scorers with 25 points and added 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Senior Giorgi Tsiklauri (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 11 points of his own, while junior Kevin Henry (Stratham, N.H.) rounded out Plymouth State's double-digit scorers with 10 points in the losing effort.

Plymouth State falls to 6-7 (0-5 LEC) on the season, while the Huskies improve to 8-5 and 2-2 in the LEC.

The Basics:

• Plymouth State 57, Southern Maine 62
  • Plymouth State (6-7, 0-5 LEC)
  • Southern Maine (8-5, 2-2 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Kyler Bosse (25 pts, 11-24 fg, 10 reb)
• Giorgi Tsiklauri (11 pts, 7 reb)
• Kevin Henry (10 pts, 5 reb)

How it Happened:

• The Panthers jumped out to an early 11-5 lead with 15:17 remaining in the opening half.
• USM got to within one, 13-12, on a three-pointer at the 12:39 mark.
• PSU built its first double-digit lead seven minutes later to go up 26-16 with 5:12 before the half.
• The Huskies drained a three-pointer as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 30-26.
• Using a 7-2 spurt, PSU extended the lead to 37-28 over the first 2:19 of the second half.
• Southern Maine came back to take its first lead since the opening minute, going up 39-37 with 13:06 to go in the contest.
• It remained a back-and-forth, one-possession game until the Huskies used a 9-0 run to go up 53-46 with 4:06 on the clock.
• Trailing by just three, it appeared as though PSU would have a shot at a hoop and free throw, but the officials called an offensive foul, forcing the Panthers to put USM on the line with 39 seconds to play.
• USM missed its second free throw and Bosse ran down the court and drilled a quick three-pointer to cut the lead to 58-55 with 13 seconds left, but the hosts knocked down their free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.

By the Numbers:

• The Panthers went 22-of-59 (37.3%) from the floor and 2-of-11 (18.2%) from three.
• Plymouth State outrebounded the Huskies 41-32 overall and 9-4 on the offensive glass.
• PSU knocked down 11-of-12 free throw attempts (91.7%).
• The Panthers led for nearly two-thirds of the contest.
• Southern Maine showed off its depth as the Huskies' reserves outscored PSU's bench by a 15-2 margin.
• PSU held a slight, 22-20 edge on points in the paint.
• Bosse recorded the tenth 20-point game of his career and his third career double-double.
• PSU holds a 45-33 advantage in the head-to-head matchup dating back to 1987.
• Neither team has won consecutive games in the series since PSU won three-straight between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Up Next:

• The Panthers return to Foley Gymnasium on Saturday (Jan. 7) for an LEC clash with UMass Boston at 3:00 p.m. for Local Youth Basketball Day.

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