PROVIDENCE, R.I.  – Senior guard Tahrike Carter (Brooklyn, N.Y./Benjamin Banneker) scored a team-high 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the floor to lead three players in double figures as the No. 1 Rhode Island College Anchormen men's basketball team defeated the fifth-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies 61-47 in a Little East Conference Tournament Semifinal at the Murray Center Friday night.

         With the win, the Anchormen — ranked No. 16 nationally by D3hoops.com — improve to 24-3 overall and advance to their seventh consecutive tournament championship game. They will take on the third-seeded Keene State College Owls — who beat two-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University in Friday's other semifinal — at the Murray Center on Saturday (5:00 p.m.). The Huskies drop to 15-12 with the loss, and await a possible ECAC Tournament berth.

         After Carter tied the score at 2-2 with a free throw 2:58 in the game, the Anchormen exploded on a 13-1 run to take a 15-3 lead with 9:55 remaining in the half. The run was highlighted by six points from sophomore guard Alex Cruz (East Hartford, Conn.), and four points from Carter. RIC would extend its first half lead by as much as 19 points, 28-9, with just under 2:30 remaining in the opening half, and rolled in halftime with a commanding 29-15 lead.

         Southern Maine opened the second half scoring nine points in the first four minutes of play, eventually cutting RIC's lead to eight points, 40-32, on a layup by junior guard Conor Sullivan (Scarborough, Maine), but the Anchormen spurred off a 12-6 run over the next seven minutes to put the game out of reach.

         USM senior forward Sean Bergeron (Kennebunk, Maine) led USM with 13 points and eight rebounds, to go along with two blocks. Senior guard Mike Poulin (Readfield, Maine) had eight points, junior forward James Odneal (Pontiac, Mich./Bottineau) finished with seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and senior guard Alex Kee (Bath, Maine/Morse) and Sullivan each scored seven points. 

         Along with his 12 points, Carter also tallied team highs in rebounds with eight and assists with four. Junior guard Nyheem Sanders (Pawtucket, R.I./St. Andrew's) and sophomore guard Chris Burton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) each finished with 11 points, and junior guard Tom DeCiantis (North Kingstown, R.I.) added nine points on 3-for-6 shooting from the field. Burton also finished with six rebounds.

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