'DANBURY, CT – Plymouth State College ran off 14
unanswered points midway through the first half Friday night and
never looked back, running away from Keene State College, 82-76, in
the semifinals of the Little East Conference Men's Basketball
Tournament at Western Connecticut State University's Feldman Arena.
The victory advances second-seeded PSC (21-6) into the
championship game Saturday at 3:00 p.m. against host and top-seeded
WCSU. The Colonials disposed of fourth-seeded UMA Dartmouth
in Friday's second semifinal, 77-74. Third-seeded Keene
State, which had won eight of its last nine, drops to 20-7.
KSC defeated PSC in last year's semifinal, 67-62.
PSC has never won the LEC men's basketball championship.
The Panthers are making their first appearance in the title game
since 1999, when they lost at home to Western CT, 92-60.
The 14-point spurt in the first half Friday gave PSC a 26-13
advantage with seven minutes remaining. Keene State stopped
the bleeding, but trailed by 11 points (39-28) at the break.
The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead most of the second
half, shooting 54 percent from the field after the
intermission. PSC led by 17 points (66-49) with 10 minutes to
play and by 12 (72-60) with four minutes left. The Owls got
the margin down to four points in the final minute and three points
(79-76) with 20 second remaining, but PSC held them off by making
seven of their eight free throws in the final 40 seconds.
Sophomore Anthony Oglesby (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the Panthers with
24 points and 12 rebounds, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the
field. Senior Kenny Stewart (Londonderry, N.H.) contributed
15 points and five assists, and junior Mike Loughlin (Manchester,
N.H.) and sophomore Nick Pelotte (Bingham, ME) added 11 points
apiece. Stewart and Loughlin each hit three three-pointers
for PSC.
Keene State had a balanced scoring attack, with four players in
double figures. Junior Bennett Pawlusiak (Bedford, N.H.) came
off the bench to hit four three-points and finish with a team-high
16 points. Senior Derek Swenson (Attleboro, MA.) scored 15
points, freshman Sean Sullivan (Athol, MA.) added 12 off the bench,
and junior Alphonse Michalski (Northampton, MA.) chipped in with 11
points.
(Courtesy WCSU Sports Information)
