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            DANBURY, Conn. -- Junior guard DaQuan Brooks (Atlanta, Ga./Bristol Central) scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Western Connecticut State University Colonials to a 88-71 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.

            With the win, the Colonials move to 6-1 and 1-0 in the Little East Conference.  The Huskies fall to 5-2 and drop to 0-1 in the LEC.

            Brooks scored his 1,000th career point on a layup early in the game to become the 26th Western Connecticut player to achieve the milestone.  Brooks was 8-of-19 from the field and now has 1,028 points in his career.

            Senior forward Wilburt Jarrett (Hartford, Conn.) finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and a game-high six assists for the Colonials.  Junior forwards Mark Redding (Waterbury, Conn.) and Gary Robinson (Torrington, Conn.) chipped in with 10 and nine points, respectively.

            Junior forward Sean Bergeron (Kennebunk, Maine) led four Huskies in double figures with 14 points to complement six rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot.  Senior guard Corteze Isaac (Germantown, Md./Northwest) added 13 points, and senior guard Devin Chambers (Memphis, Tenn./Oak Hill Academy) scored 11 points.  Senior forward Otis Smith (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Ocoee) chipped in with 10 points.

            The Colonials raced out to 9-2 lead following a dunk from Jarrett with 16:36 remaining in the first half.  The Huskies, who battled the entire game, took their first lead (19-18), on a jumper from junior guard Chris Pagentine (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) at the 10:10 mark of the opening stanza.  The Huskies lead would grow to as many as three points (23-20) when Bergeron hit a jumper in the lane with 7:54 left before the break.

            The game would be tied twice before Western Connecticut went on an 18-11 run to close out the half with a 43-36 advantage.

            The Colonials led the entire second half.  A layup by Brooks with 8:18 remaining gave them their first double-digit lead of the game, 69-59.  They kept at least 10-point lead the rest of the way.

            Southern Maine hosts the University of Maine Farmington on Thursday (7:00 p.m.).  Western Connecticut is at Norwich University on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).

-cac-