In a key LEC Conference match-up last Tuesday at Hill Gymnasium, Plymouth State University proved to be too much in the end for USM as the Panthers came back from nine down midway through the second half to edge the Huskies 73-69.
Plymouth improves to 4-2 in the LEC and 11-5 overall with the win, and USM drops to 0-6 in the conference and 2-14 overall.
The Huskies came out strong in the first half as they gained an early advantage over the Panthers. USM shot red hot in the first half of play as they went 15-for-23 from the field (65.2 percent) and hung on to a well earned 38-32 lead over Plymouth at halftime.
USM continued to play aggressively in the second half, controlling the tempo of the game well. The Huskies received strong efforts from their bench as they are plagued with a combination of injuries, ineligible players, and financial issues. Otis Smith (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) prolonged his consistent scoring and Alex Kee (Bath), a freshman transfer from Thomas College, contributed solid minutes as he drained three big 3-pointers to help secure the Huskies lead, which lasted most of the game.
“Alex was a great pick-up for us,” Coach Karl Henrickson simply said. “I knew he was going to be good for our team.”
As time ticked in the second half, the Panthers scored ten unanswered points to take the lead 58-57 with just over nine minutes to play. USM fought back with just under eight minutes left when junior guard John Sewall (Bath) stuck a jumper and Kee scored three straight points to reclaim the 62-58 lead. The likes of Kee, Smith, and Sewall were unable to stop Plymouth in the end though as they went on a 11-2 run to take the lead 69-64 and never looked back.
Plymouth was led by senior guard Jason O’Keefe and senior forward Mike Chergey, who scored 31 combined points and each tallied their 1,000th point in the contest. O’Keefe recorded a team-high 16 points and Chergey chipped in a solid 15-point performance. Junior guard Ryan Lambert tossed in ten points off the bench.
USM was led by Smith, who shot 6-for-10 from the field tallying a game-high 17 points, and lead all players in rebounding with seven. Sewall and Kee scored 14 points each with Kee shooting 3-for-4 from three point range.
The Huskies will look to rebound from this loss and continue their hot shooting as they face another conference foe, UMass Boston on Tuesday.