Panthers coast past USM, 74-58

PLYMOUTH — Senior guards Brandon Boggs (Strafford) and Mark Dunham (Salem) combined for 34 points Tuesday evening, leading the Plymouth State University men's basketball team to a 74-58 victory over the University of Southern Maine in a Little East Conference match-up at Foley Gymnasium.

Boggs, who scored a career-high 16 points in his previous outing, hit 6-of-10 from the field to finish with a game-high 18 points, while Dunham drained 6-of-8 shots to end up with 16 points. Both Boggs and Dunham connected on 4-of-5 from three-point range. Also contributing to the Panther offense were junior Mike Walcek (Dover) with 12 points, and senior Kevin Boutilier and sophomore Phil Bourassa with 10 points apiece.

Sophomore Andy Frost led the visitors with 15 points, and senior Bill Hardwick chipped in with 12 points.

It was a one-point game with seven minutes to go in the first half, but PSU went on a 17-4 burst to take a 33-21 lead. USM hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it 33-23 at the break. The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead most of the second half, leading by 18 at the midway point (60-42) before coasting home the rest of the way.

The hosts shot 52.8 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the three-point stripe (12-of-20). The Panther defense held USM to a 39.2 shooting percentage while forcing 23 Husky turnovers. The visitors did enjoy a 34-28 advantage on the boards.

PSU, which improved to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the LEC, is home again on Saturday (3) with a rematch against Western Connecticut. WestConn defeated PSU in last year's LEC title game, and the Panthers upended the Colonials in a regular season contest last month in Danbury, Conn.

USM too much for PSU women's hoop

The University of Southern Maine raced to a 25-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and never looked back Tuesday evening en route to an 80-35 victory over Plymouth State University in a Little East Conference women's basketball game at Foley Gymnasium.

The Huskies, ranked No. 1 in both NCAA Division III national polls, won their seventh in a row to improve to 15-1 overall and 6-0 in the LEC. USM has also captured 52 consecutive conference games since falling to Plymouth State on Jan. 21, 2003. PSU dropped to 5-9 overall and 2-4 in league play.

Senior Ashley Marble led the winners with game-highs of 14 points and nine rebounds, playing in only 21 minutes. Classmate Katie Frost added 12 points and junior Katie Sibley 11. The Huskies used their entire bench, with 14 players seeing at least eight minutes on the court and no one playing more than 21 minutes.

The USM defense limited the Panthers to a 23.1 shooting percentage and forced 33 PSU turnovers. Senior Katie Susat led the hosts with seven points, five coming from the free throw line.

PSU is home again Saturday (1) for an LEC affair against Western Connecticut, hoping to avenge last month's 74-66 loss in Danbury, Conn.

LEC honor

for Boutilier

The senior center on the Plymouth State University men's basketball team was honored Tuesday with selection to the Little East Conference Weekly Honor Roll for his performance in two Panther games last week.

Senior co-captain Kevin Boutilier earned selection to the Weekly Honor Roll. It is the first time Boutiler has been honored by the LEC since being named Rookie of the Week in January of 2003.

Boutilier, a 6-6 center, averaged 23.5 points and 6.0 rebounds as PSU went 1-1 for the week, including a single and a double overtime game. He shot 61.3 percent from the field (10-of-31) and 81.8 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11). He scored 23 points in an overtime home loss to UMass Boston on Tuesday, and matched his career high with 24 points in a double overtime win Saturday at Eastern Connecticut. He has scored in double figures in six straight games and 11 out of 14 this season.

Boutilier leads the LEC in field goal percentage (57.5) and ranks among the conference leaders in scoring (ninth at 14.4 points per game), rebounds (tied for 11th with 6.1 per game), free throw percentage (fifth at 79.1), and blocked shots (tied for eighth at 0.79 per game).