Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker in Playoffs

Nick Fiore

For The Clock

nsfiore@plymouth.edu

The first round of the LEC Tournament was kicked off with #4 Plymouth State taking on #5 UMass Boston in a nail biter in front of a packed Foley Gymnasium in Plymouth Tuesday night. Plymouth's 4th seed ranking was it's highest since the 2008-09 campaign, and Tuesday marked the first playoff game played at home in eight years.

The Panthers jumped out to a quick start with a 7-1 lead but would eventually lose their momentum, as UMass Boston would pull ahead to regain the lead. The Beacons would never give up the lead and close out the first half with a 34-25 lead. The Panthers would come back strong in the second half and cut the lead down to one when senior Jack Preston (Nashua, N.H.) made two clutch layups late in the game to keep the Panthers alive. The Beacons pulled ahead with 8 seconds left in the game when they hit a shot to make it 59-55. Plymouth sophomore Mike Osgood (Nashua, N.H.) hit a last second layup to make it 59-57 but UMass Boston closed out the game with two free throws to make it 61-57 with 4 seconds remaining.

Senior Ernie Johnson (Springfield, MA.) led the way for the Panthers with 15 points and pitched in 3 steals. Osgood and freshman Jaylen Leroy (Manchester, N.H.) both scored 12 points. Senior Nathan Clarke (Reading, Mass.) had an all around game with 8 points, seven rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal.

Umass Boston advances to the LEC Semifinal where they will face the top ranked Eastern Connecticut. That game will take place on Friday the 24th.