Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Sophomore guard Cole Libby (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) scored a 18 points on a 7-for-12 effort from the field to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies downed the UMass Boston Beacons 75-68 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Tuesday night at Hill Gymnasium.
The win snaps an eight-game slide for the Huskies and improves their overall record to 6-12 and 2-6 in the Little East. UMass Boston dips to 5-13 and 0-8 in the conference.
Libby finished with six assists, five rebounds and a steal to compliment his team-high 18 points. Senior guard Conor Sullivan (Scarborough, Maine) added 15 points and senior forward Tyler Penney (Barnstead, N.H./Bishop Brady) tossed in 14 points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Senior forward James Odneal (Pontiac, Mich.) added 11 points, three rebounds and three steals. Sophomore forward Jacob Littlefield (Mechanic Falls, Maine/Poland) put together a solid performance off of the bench with eight points, four rebounds and assist while shooting 3-for-5 from the field, including a 2-for-3 mark from three-point range.
Junior forward Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) led all scorers with 21 points off of the bench. Freshman center Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass./New Mission) added 12 points and eight rebounds in a reserve role. Sophomore Omar Benabicha (Saugus, Mass.) tossed in 10 points. Junior guard Luc Uylsse (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bronx Regional) had a strong floor game dishing out a game-high 11 assists while grabbing nine rebounds. He finished with four points.
In a nip and tuck game, the score was tied at 38 all four minutes into the second half when the Huskies' made their move on the heels of a 14-4 run to take a 52-44 lead with 10:05 to play. Six different players scored for the Huskies in the run that included threes from Libby and Littlefield and a monster alley-oop dunk from Odneal on a great feed from Libby.
The Huskies maintained their lead and held a 65-57 lead with 4:20 to play after an offensive rebound and a put-back from Penney before the Beacons pulled to within four, 65-61, with four straight points on a jumper from Benabicha and a steal and a dunk from Joseph with 3:25 remaining. The Huskies were able to close out the game at the free throw line making 7-of-8 down the stretch for the 75-68 final. Libby scored five of the Huskies final 10 points.
Southern Maine travels to Keene State on Saturday (3:00 p.m.). UMass Boston hosts Rhode Island College on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).
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