PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Sophomore guard Tarchee Brown (Rockville) was 10-of-15 from the floor overall  and the Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team shot over 60 percent from the floor in the second half to remain undefeated in the Little East Conference with an 80-56 win over Plymouth State University Saturday afternoon at Foley Gymnasium.

In avenging its only LEC loss of last year on this same court, two-time defending regular-season champion Eastern (9-5, 3-0 LEC) takes over sole possession of first place in the conference. Plymouth (11-3, 2-1 LEC) was beaten for the first time at home in seven games this year and Western Connecticut lost by a score of 89-82 to visiting UMass Dartmouth Saturday for its first loss in three conference games to give Eastern sole possession of the top spot.

Plymouth shot 60.9 percent from the floor in the first half but only led by two, 38-36, before the Warriors opened the second half on a 20-3 run over the first six minutes to pull away to a 19-point, 58-39 advantage. After missing three of their first four shots in the second half, the Warriors  went 8-for-9, getting points from five different players.

Brown led the Warriors with 24 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and four steals, with junior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) adding 15 points (7-of-10) and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior center David Canny (Torrington) came off the bench for a career-high 13 points and blocked two shots and senior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) had nine points and six assists.

The Panthers led by as many as eight points in the first half but a jumper by Lindo pulled Eastern even with just over two minutes left in the half and Plymouth managed only 20.0 percent shooting from the floor in the second half and missed nine of ten three-pointers in the game.

Eastern's bench gave it a lift in the first half when three starters managed only two total points, with Canny, senior forward Matthew Sterner (Plymouth) and freshman guard Tyrell Arnum (Bloomfield) combining for 15 point and six rebounds in 26 first-half minutes.

Plymouth, which ended a ten-game losing streak at the hands of Eastern with last year's 65-57 victory, got a game-high 25 points from junior forward Jack Preston.

Eastern visits UMass Dartmouth in a conference game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.