PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Simple math tells you that the Plymouth State University men's basketball team should have gained a measure of revenge Saturday from its 20-point December loss to Eastern Connecticut State University at Francis Geissler Gymnasium.

Returning to the lineup for Plymouth Saturday was junior guard Kyler Bosse (20.7 ppg.), who missed that first game against the Warriors with injury, while Eastern was playing Saturday without first-year guard Dominick Dao (Terryville), who had dropped a career-high 26 points on the Panthers on 10-of-14 field goal shooting but was missing his first game of the year Saturday with injury.

The math, however, didn't add up Saturday at Foley Gymnasium as Eastern (9-11, 6-5 LEC) erased a late first-half 14-point deficit, using a 23-8 scoring run over the first nine minutes of the second half and holding on by sinking all ten of its free throws in the final minute to complete a season sweep of Plymouth (8-12, 1-10 LEC), 79-75.

With its third straight conference win, Eastern remains in a fourth-place tie in the conference with the University of Southern Maine, which routed Castleton University, 69-39, Saturday at Castleton, VT. With five LEC regular-season games remaining, Eastern and Southern Maine are a half-game behind idle UMass Boston. The top six teams in the final standings qualify for the LEC tournament, which gets underway Feb. 21.

Looking for its tenth win over Plymouth in the last 11 meetings, Eastern was outscored 16-0 over six minutes of the first half to fall back by double digits and later trailed by 14, 34-20, on back-to-back three-point plays (one conventional, one from distance) by Giorgi Tsiklauri with 4:50 left before the half.

Eastern opening the second half with a 10-4 run to cut the gap to two and took a five-point lead, 56-51,  on consecutive three-pointers from senior guards Hunter Baillargeon (Norwich) off a pass from senior guard Max Lee (Norwich) and Jalen Williams (Simsbury) midway through the half. In all, the Warriors shot 50 percent from the floor in a 46-point second half.

Plymouth, which has lost 11 of its last 13, made it a one-possession game three times in the final minute but senior guard Tyreice Woods (Hartford) and Williams combined to sink ten consecutive free throws in the final 47 seconds that secured the team's third straight win and third road win in its last four after losing its first five away from home.

Woods had a chance to ice the win with 1:11 left and the Warriors leading by seven, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, but after Plymouth's Quinn Rotche nailed a three-point at the opposite end to cut the Eastern lead to four with 57 seconds left, Woods was perfect from the stripe, sinking both ends of four two-shot opportunities over 34 seconds, and Williams sealed the win with two of his own with four seconds left to close out the scoring.

Williams led all players with 26 points, converting 9 of 17 from the floor, including 5 of 10 from distance. In four games since missing four games with injury, Williams has scored 99 points for a 24.8 scoring average. His points Saturday move him to within 21  of 1,000 in his career (391 of them coming as a freshman at Pine Manor College in 2019-20)

Woods scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, with his three-pointer his first field goal of the game off a steal and assist from Williams tying the game at 50-all with 12 minutes left. Baillargeon added 12 points in the game. Lee sparked the Warriors' defense in the second half when they forced Plymouth into 38.2 field goal shooting and numerous turnovers. Lee finished with seven points, eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots in 33 minutes, while senior forward Quinton Lott (Bridgeport) also played a key role off the bench in the second half, finishing the game with nine points, six rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. Lott contributed two free throws in the second half that helped the Warriors maintain slim leads and also grabbed the rebound of a missed three-pointer by Williams and put it back in that gave Eastern a six-point cushion with 6:30 left.

In the game, Eastern was 10-of-23 from distance -- getting at least one three-pointer from five different players. Three days after 50 percent free throw shooting nearly cost them an LEC home win over UMass Dartmouth, the Warriors canned 19 of 23 free throws (16 of 18 in the second half), Woods converting 10 of 11 in the game. The Warriors finished with a +13 point advantage at the foul line.

Eastern was outrebounded by nine in the game and by a whopping 14-4 margin on the offensive glass, but the hosts were able to capitalize with only six second-chance points. The Warriors turned 11 Plymouth turnovers into 16 points (a +8 advantage).

Bosse, the conference's second-leading scorer, led four Plymouth players in double figures, with 24 to go along with a game-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Rylan Canabano, scoreless in 27 minutes of Eastern's earlier win over Plymouth, scored eight points in the first half Saturday but was held scoreless the rest of the way. Sophomore forward Elijah Swanson, who returned recently after missing five games with injury, matched his first-game total against Eastern with 12 again this time, and also had six rebounds and three assists.

Eastern visits Keene State College Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.