Providence, R.I.--Freshman guard Shion Darby (Peekskill, NY) scored 27 points as Rhode Island College fell to Plymouth State, 64-61, in Little East men's basketball action played at the Murray Center on Saturday afternoon.

THE BASICS
Plymouth State 64, Rhode Island College 61
Plymouth State (10-7, 5-4 LEC)
Rhode Island College (13-5, 6-3 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
• RIC jumped out to a quick start with a 19-6 lead in the opening eight minutes of action with the help of four three-pointers sank by three different Anchormen.

• A Darby layup gave the Anchormen their largest lead of 13, 21-8, with 10:58 left in the opening half.

• The Panthers clawed back, outscoring the Anchormen, 19-10, in the final 10 minutes of the half, and trailed by just four going into halftime, 31-27.

• The second half was back and forth the entire way. RIC held a seven-point, 40-33, advantage three minutes into the half, which was its largest of the half.

• PSU cut the lead down to one-point, 50-49, on a senior guard Jaylen LeRoy (Manchester, NH) layup and gained its first lead of the day, 51-50, on the ensuing possession following a layup from sophomore guard Dante Rivera (Methuen, MA).

• The Panthers extended their lead to four points, 54-50, before a Darby trey at 5:38 and free throw knotted the score at 54 apiece with 4:56 remaining.

• LeRoy gave the Panthers the lead, 57-54, after draining a three ball with 4:41 left to play.

• Junior forward Tim Deng (Portland, ME) converted on a layup to even the score for the Anchormen with 2:52 remaining.

• After the Panthers went back up by four, 61-57, a pair of free throws and an alley-oop dunk by senior forward Ben Vezele (Providence, RI) once again evened the score with 15 seconds left on the clock.

• The Panthers would get the final shot to fall when junior forward Devin Cooper (Newfield, NY) sank an uncontested three as time expired. 

• Vezele finished with 18 points and six rebounds.

• LeRoy led the Panthers with 18 points. Cooper finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound, double-double.

BY THE NUMBERS
• RIC shot 40 percent (22-for-55) from the field, 33 percent (7-for-21) from three-point range and 67 percent (10-for-15) from the foul line.

• PSU shot 54 percent (26-for-48) from the field, 40 percent (4-for-10) from three-point territory and 73 percent (8-for-11) from the charity stripe.

• PSU outrebounded RIC, 38-24, and dished out 16 assists on the day.

WHAT'S NEXT
In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will continue Little East play at UMass Dartmouth on Wednesday, Jan. 29 (7:30 p.m.).