Blazers Come Up Short At Plymouth State

PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- Plymouth State needed a couple timely 3-pointers late in the second half to pull away from Elms College in a non-conference Monday night men's basketball showdown, as the Panthers picked up a 78-72 victory

Elms (3-17) led 64-63 with 4:16 to play when PSU's Dante Rivera (Methuen, Mass.) hit from long range to give the Panthers a 66-64 lead. Kewan Smoot (Windsor, Conn.) tied the game at 66-all with a layup on the other end, but the Panthers (11-9) hit from deep yet again on the following possession to go ahead 69-66, and led for the remaining 3:33.

The Blazers built a 36-30 lead at halftime but Plymouth State charged back in the second half, shooting 51.6 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, including 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range.

Smoot led Elms with 14 points off the bench, going 6-for-9 from the field to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Tyler Barney (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) added 12 points in a reserve role for the Blazers and D.J. Edelen (Prince George, Va.) finished with 10 points.

Rivera led all scorers with 22 points in the game, hitting four 3s for the Panthers. Jaylen LeRoy (Manchester, N.H.) added 15 points for PSU.

Elms forced PSU into 21 turnovers and converted those into 27 points. Meanwhile, the Blazers committed 17 turnovers.

The Blazers return to New England Collegiate Conference play on Wednesday at Lesley. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.