Plymouth Men's basketball captures OT win over Keene State

Plymouth State Men's Basketball defeated Keene State in an overtime thriller by a score of 78-70 on Tuesday, February 10 in Keene.  The victory improved PSU's overall record to 10-12 with a Little East record of 6-5.  Keene State fell to 10-11 overall with a 6-5 in the LEC.  

Keene State students packed the gymnasium during an intense rivalry game that that ended up going to overtime. PSU never let up in outscoring Keene State 10-2 in the extra frame.  PSU junior Eric Hondal and sophomore Tom Dowd secured the PSU victory with clutch free throws in the closing moments of overtime.  PSU senior guard Ben Huntington led the Panthers with 19 points on the night while sophomore guard Ryan Lambert chipped in 16 points.  Senior forward Tyler Kathan led the way for the Owls of Keene State with 20 points, 14 of which came in the first half.  First year student and guard Derek D' Amours put in a strong performance with 16 points while first year student and forward Cody Snow added 14 points for the Owls.

Kathan knocked down a three pointer at the buzzer at the end of the first half to give Keene State a 38-37 lead at the half.  The Owls would add to their lead early on in the second half when Kathan would knock down another three pointer to give Keene a 50-41 lead.  PSU would rally in the game with a 27-11 run that gave them a 68-61 lead with just over two minutes left in the game.  Keene State would put together a rally of their own by outscoring PSU 7-0 in the final minutes.  In overtime, PSU would take over by outscoring Keene 10-2.

The loss extends Keene State's losing streak to three games while PSU has won two of their last three games. The victory for PSU was a key win to prepare for their final three games of the season. "The game vs. Keene was a big game because it puts us in 3rd place with three games left," said PSU Coach John Scheinman, in an email. "It was a total team effort- I wish we could have closed the game out in regulation - but we showed great composure in over time," he added.

PSU will stay on the road to play UMass Boston on Sat., Feb. 14 who sports a rough 4-17 record.  After playing UMB, PSU will close out the regular season with two home games against Southern Maine and UMass Dartmouth. Keene State will travel to Western Connecticut State University on the same day.  WestConn. has a 12-9 overall record on the season.