Box Score BOSTON – Junior Cole Libby (Buxton, Maine/Bonny Eagle) was 5-for-7 from three point range en route to a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 67-62 win over the UMass Boston Beacons in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Thursday night at the Clark Athletic Gym.
With the win, Southern Maine snaps a 10-game losing streak and improves its record to 4-14 and earns its first LEC win of the season to stand at 1-7 in the LEC. UMass Boston falls to 10-9 with the loss and 2-6 in the conference.
Libby added three assists, two steals and two blocked shots to fill up the stat sheet as the Huskies shot 50.0 percent (13-for-26) from beyond the arc. Junior Jacob Littlefield (Mechanic Falls, Maine/Poland Regional) added 13 points, while sophomore Zach Leal (York, Maine) and freshman Isaiah Stone-Patterson (Rockland, Maine/Oceanside) each scored eight points. Junior Aaron Toman (Gardiner, Maine) chipped in with seven points and six rebounds in a strong performance off of the bench.
Senior Luc Ulysse (Brooklyn, N.Y./Bronx Regional) led the Beacons with a game-high 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting. Junior Omar Benabicha (Saugus, Mass.) tossed in 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting and senior Carl Joseph (Brockton, Mass.) added eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds.
In a closely played first half, Southern Maine grabbed a narrow 32-31 lead at the break. USM trailed 29-25 after a Ulysse traditional three-point play with 3:09 left in the opening stanza, but the Huskies closed out the final minutes outscoring the Beacons 5-2, grabbing their lead on a Littlefield three after a kickout from Libby.
USM opened the first four minutes of the second half on a 14-7 run to grab 46-38 lead with 15:55 to play. Libby hit back-to-back threes in the run. Trailing by eight, UMB pushed back outscoring the Huskies 12-3 over the next four minutes and 12 seconds to snatch the lead from USM with a 50-49 advantage. Benabicha's second three of the run at the 11:43 mark, but the Beacons over the top, but it was their last lead of the game.
After Benabicha's three, USM scored nine straight points as part of a game-deciding 12-1 run. Littlefield started the Huskies' pivotal run with a three and junior Jalen Lincoln (Nobleboro, Maine/Lincoln Academy) followed with back-to-back threes for a 58-50 USM lead with 7:48 to play. A single free throw from the Beacons broke up the rally, which was capped on a dunk from Littlefield at 5:44 for a 61-51 Husky lead.
The Beacons pulled to within 61-56 of the Huskies on a jumper from Benabicha with 3:35 left in regulation, but USM matched the Beacons point-for-point down the stretch for the win.
Southern Maine hosts Keene State College on Saturday (3:00 p.m.) in a Little East Conference match up. Southern Maine will be hosting its annual "Think Pink" Day and will be selling "Think Pink" t-shirts and will have raffles and prizes in an effort to raise funds for cancer research.
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