DANBURY, Conn. - Despite a game-high 22 points from senior guard Matthew Turner (Trumbull, Conn.), the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team surrendered a double digit first half lead and fell to visiting Little East Conference foe Plymouth State, 83-79, in the conference opener for both squads on Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.

Junior forward Ryan Alkins (Queens, N.Y.) powered in 15 points and snagged a game-high nine rebounds, while classmate guard Ahmod Privott (Middletown, Conn.) tacked on 11 points and six boards for the hosts. 

Senior guard Dante Rivera (Lawrence, Mass.) paced the Panthers with 21 points - 17 in the first half - on the strength of four three-pointers. Rookie guard Yansel Reyes (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in with 16, while sophomore Kyler Bosse (Manchester, N.H.) and senior Devin Cooper (Newfield, N.Y.) added 12 and 11, respectively. Reyes also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. 

WestConn dominated the offensive glass in the first half. Freshman forward James Rhodes (Tarrytown, N.Y.) knocked in an offensive put-back. Moments later he stole the ball and Privott drilled a midrange jumper, extending the host's advantage to 35-26. Privott then sank a shot from the free throw to line to make it a 10-point game with 4:38 left in the opening half.

Plymouth answered with a 13-3 run to capture a 39-38 lead at the break. They connected on six shots from downtown during the stanza, while WestConn didn't notch any, but finished with 12 offensive rebounds to keep the game close. 

WestConn regained a 58-57 midway through the second half when Privott knocked down another shot from the stripe. But the Panthers stormed back with a surge to seize a 73-63 lead when Reyes converted a tip-in with 4:56 remaining.

The hosts retaliated and cut the deficit to 73-71 when senior guard Wes Nelson (Queens, N.Y.) droved and kicked it out to Privott for a three-pointer from the left wing. That was as close as they would come to regaining the lead as Plymouth State buried their late free throw attempts in the final minutes, setting the count at 83-79.

With the loss, WestConn dropped to 6-2 overall and 0-1 in league play, while the Panthers improved to 6-3 and 1-0. WCSU returns to action when they travel to conference rival UMass-Boston on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.