Plymouth, N.H.-Senior guard Malcolm Smith (Old Orchard Beach, ME) scored a career-high 36 points as Rhode Island College defeated Plymouth State, 97-91, in Little East Conference men's basketball action played at Foley Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS

Rhode Island College 97, Plymouth State 91

Rhode Island College (8-17, 6-9 LEC)

Plymouth State (10-15, 2-12 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Smith shot 10-for-18 from the field, 5-for-12 from three-point range and knocked down 11-of-13 free throw attempts. He also had seven rebounds in the win.

• Freshman guard Adham Floyd (Worcester, MA) had 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Floyd cashed in on five of his 10 three-point attempts.

• Sophomore guard CJ Donaldson (Bridgeport, CT) had 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Junior center Grant Gillis (Jamestown, RI) registered 10 points, five boards and four assists.

• Plymouth State sophomore guard Jaylen Leroy (Manchester, NH) and junior forward Mike Osgood (Nashua, NH) each had 31 points for the hosts.

• The first half saw six lead changes and the game tied on seven occasions. A Smith jumper and free throw pulled RIC within one, but a bucket with one second left saw PSU hold a 46-43 lead at halftime.

• RIC built a 12-point, 78-66, lead with 10 minutes left in the second half, but PSU battled back  to take a short-lived lead. With the score tied, 89-89, with 2:38 left, a Smith layup and a trey by Floyd help RIC hold on for the win.

BY THE NUMBERS

• RIC shot 49 percent (27-for-55) from the field, 43 percent (12-for-28) from three-point range and 71 percent (31-for-44) from the free throw line.

• PSU shot 51 percent (37-for-72) from the field, 36 percent (9-for-25) from downtown and 89 percent (8-for-9) from the charity stripe.

• RIC dominated the glass, 45-24.

WHAT'S NEXT

• In upcoming action, Rhode Island College is the No. 6 seed in the upcoming 2018 Little East Conference Men's Basketball Championship and will travel to third-seeded UMass Boston on Tuesday, Feb. 20.