GORHAM, Maine –  Fenton Bradley led the Western Connecticut State University Colonials to a 78-76 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies recording a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead three Colonials in double figures in a Little East Conference men's basketball win Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium. 

         With the win, Western Connecticut improves to 2-0 in the Little East and 6-2 overall.  Suffering its second loss in as many games, Southern Maine dips to 4-5 overall and 0-3 in the Little East.  Two of the Huskies last three losses have been by a possession.  

         Bradley was 8-for-12 from the field, and snagged four offensive rebounds as part of his 11 for the double-double. He added four steals, two assists and a blocked shot.  Legend Johnson added 15 points off of the bench, while Ahmod Privott had 14 points and eight rebounds.  

         USM sophomore Jacobe Thomas (Houston, Texas/Davis) had his third 30-point or higher game of the season for the Huskies racking up a double-double with 30 points and 11 rebounds, adding four steals.  Thomas was 12-for-21 from the floor, and 4-for-7 from three.  Senior Derek Haney (Auburn, Calif.) had 13 points and nine rebounds, while senior Jay Roberts (Suwanee, Ga./Fanglier) had eight points, 10 rebounds and four assists.  

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

•  In a closely contested first half, both teams were tied at 27 with under five to play.  The Huskies used an 13-5 run over the next four minutes to lead by eight, 40-32, with 1:09 to go until the break.  USM junior guard Kylani Lafleur (Dover, N.H./Portsmouth Christian) had five of his seven points in the run for the Huskies in a spark off of the bench.  WestConn scored the final four points of the half to head into the lockerrom down 40-36.
•  Thomas had 13 of his 30 in the first half, including eight of the Huskies final 15 points of the half.  Bradley and Privott had 11 and 10 points each for Western Connecticut in the first. 
• WestConn opened on a 10-2 run in the second half and snagged a 46-42 lead with 16:58 to play.  Three different players scored in the opening run for the Colonials led by six points from Jaheim Young. USM bounced back with an 8-4 spurt closed out by a three from Haney to tie the game up at 50 with 14:45 to play.  From there both teams settled into a back-and-forth contest.  
• With neither team leading by more than a possession, WestConn's Johnson hit two free throws at the 4:31 mark to give the Colonials a 66-65 lead and start a pivotal 10-2 run.  Following his free throws, Johnson connected on a jumper and WestConn went 4-for-4 from the free throw line before Bradley snagged an offensive board and hit a put back for a 74-67 lead with 1:51 to play. 
• Thomas pulled his team back to within four, 74-70, canning his fourth three of the night for the Huskies.  USM got to within three once in the final minute on a layup from Roberts with 18 seconds to go, but WestConn got enough out of the free throw line down the stretch for the 78-76 final.  Down four with seconds to play, Thomas snagged an offensive rebound and a layup in the final play of the game for USM.  

INSIDE THE HUSKIES STATS: 

•  Thomas has scored at least 30 points on three occasions for USM.  The sophomore guard is averaging 22.7 points per game and is shooting 50.6 percent from the field.  He has 19 threes this season and his shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.  He has scored in double-figures in all but one of the Huskies' nine games, and has had at least 20 points in five games. 
• Haney's nine rebounds are a new career-high besting his previous record of six.  Robert's 10 rebounds are a USM career-best. 

UP NEXT: 

         Southern Maine travels to UMaine Farmington on Tuesday (7:00 pm) for a non-conference game, and will close out its first semester at home on Thursday (7:00 pm) versus Thomas College. 

–cac–