Men’s Basketball Captures First Little East Conference Game, 84-81

Plymouth, NH – On Saturday, Dec 4, the PSU men’s basketball team won their first Little East Conference match-up of the season by defeating the Anchormen of Rhode Island College with a final score of 84-81. This was the Anchormen’s first LEC game, which clearly confirmed the importance of the game to these two teams.The first half of the contest was evenly matched with five lead changes and both teams entering the locker rooms at half time with a score of 32-32. Most notably was Panthers performance from the free throw line as they shot 12-12 for the first half, while Anchormen shot 0-2. Rhode Island took it’s last lead with a 48-47 advantage with 13:21 left in the second half. The Panthers went on a 20-8 scoring run to take the lead and eventually claim victory. The remaining minutes of the game forced Panthers to make several important free throws, with their last ten points coming from the line, as the Anchormen attempted what they could at a late game comeback. The Anchormen stayed in by making several late three pointers, three of which came in the remaining twenty-five seconds, and shoot 56 percent overall from that range for the second half.Leading scorers for the Panthers included sophomore Andreas Pope with 26 points, junior Kevin Boutilier with a career-best 24 points by shooting 11-15 from the field, and captain senior Nick Pelotte with 17 points. Pope collected a career-high 14 rebounds, dished out a team leading five assists, all while going 6-11 from the field and 14-16 from the free throw line. From the other side of the court were Rhode Island’s point leaders senior Captain Jason Harris with 17 points, sophomore Kamari Williams with 17 points, and sophomore Kinsey Durgin with 14 points.A pleased Coach John Scheinman, who is in his 6th year as head coach of the Panthers commented on the significance of their first Little East Conference victory of the season: “All Little East games have special meaning. We’ve lost the last two years in the championship game by being on the road from coming in second in the conference, so obviously the goal is to win all of your home games and get the highest seed possible in the conference. If you don’t win the home games, and you don’t win the first one, you can’t get that high seed. It’s great, and I’m happy the kids stepped up and came out with a win today.”With an 84-81 win, the Panthers improved their record to the .500 mark at 3-3 on the season, while the Anchormen dropped to the .500 mark at 3-3 on the season. The Panthers play their next three games on the road with their next being on Tuesday, December 7, at Tufts College at 7:00 pm. The Panthers next home game will be held on Tuesday, January 4, against Bates College at 7:00 pm.