Men's Basketball Outlasted 91-85 by Plymouth State

Plymouth, NH – The Framingham State University men's basketball team's second half comeback was thwarted by Plymouth State University as the Panthers defeated the Rams 91-85 this evening in non-conference action. 

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Plymouth State 91, Framingham State 85

- Records: Framingham State (1-11), Plymouth State (7-4)

- Location: Foley Gymnasium – Plymouth, NH

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The two teams traded baskets over the first four minutes until a three, one of six, by Jaylen LeRoy three- gave PSU a 10-8 lead. Moments later Sam Bonney-Liles swished a triple from the right corner to extend the advantage to 15-8.
• Senior Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) hit from inside to pull the Rams to within 24-21 midway through the first half, but the Panthers answered with seven straight points to push the lead to double figures.
•  LeRoy heated up from distance, sinking three straight triples as Plymouth State maintained the lead, 37-28, with just under six minutes left in the first half.
•  Freshman Dante Rivera (Methuen, Mass.) connected on a driving scoop shot to make it 46-35 in the final minute and junior Joe Simpson (Manchester, N.H.) hit three straight free throws to give PSU a 49-37 lead at the break.
• The Panthers controlled play through the first ten minutes of the second half, with LeRoy connecting two more times from distance to give PSU its biggest lead of the evening, 73-56, with 8:51 remaining.
• Framingham State started chipping away from there. An 11-3 spurt, capped by a triple from sophomore Trevor Manyak (Bolton, Mass.), pulled FSU to within nine points, 76-67, with six minutes to play.
•  The Rams kept the pressure on and Payton hit a driving layup in traffic to make it 82-78 with two minutes remaining, but LeRoy broke the press and dished to Bonney-Liles in the right corner for a clutch three-pointer on the Panthers' next possession.
• Senior Khaneil Bruce (Cambridge, Mass.) collected an offensive rebound and scored on the put-back to pull Framingham within five, 87-82, with just over a minute to play and FSU forced a stop on the defensive end, but freshman Sanchez was able to poke the ball away and the Panthers iced the game at the free throw line.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Payton paced the Rams with a team-best 30 points to go along with five assists, while sophomore Cameren McCloud-Thomas (Springfield, Mass.) added 13 points.
• Bruce finished with a double double for the Rams collecting 12 points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
• LeRoy finished the game with 31 points for the hosts, while Rivera finished the game with 17 and Bonney-Liles added 16.
• The held a 52-34 edge on the glass in the game, but the Panther converted 15 points off the Rams turnovers.

UP NEXT:

The Rams begin conference play on Saturday when they host Fitchburg State at 3 p.m.

Release courtesy of PSU Sports Information