CASTLETON, Vermont  –   Junior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) and sophomore Trevor Ward (West Park, Fla./McArthur) each scored 16 points in the second half as the University of Southern Maine Huskies used a 49-35 second half to pick up a 71-69 come-from-behind win over the Castleton University Spartans in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium.
 
The Huskies trailed CU by as many as 15 points in the second half.  The win is the first conference win of the season for Southern Maine and stops a two-game slide.
 
The Records: 
Southern Maine (6-6, 1-2 Little East)
Castleton (5-6, 0-2 Little East)
 
Series History: Earning the win in the 28^th meeting between the two schools, the Huskies lead the series 18-10.  USM is 5-0 against the Spartans since Castleton joined the Little East Conference.

Standout Huskies:  Cody Hawes 20 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists; Trevor Ward 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak) 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists; Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) 9 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; Marcus Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists.
 
Standout Spartans: Remy Brown 13 points, Johnny Torrence 12 points, Joe Alamprese 11 points,  Oluwadare Sowunmi 10 points, 7 rebounds, Darrel Hardge 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists.
 
How It Happened: 

• Shooting just 28.1 percent (9-for-32) from the field in the first half, Southern Maine trailed Castleton 34-24 at the half.  The Spartans shot 41.4 percent (12-for-29), making seven threes to surge ahead.  Hardge had seven of his nine points in the opening half for CU.
• Scoring the first five points of the second half on a layup from Sowunmi and a three from Eric Shaw, Castleton snagged its largest lead of the game 39-24 with 18:30 remaining.
• The Spartans remained in front of USM by double-digits and led 44-31 with 16 to play before a bucket from Ward, back-to-back layups from Lombard  and a free throw from Hawes game the Huskies a seven-points swing to cut into the CU lead 44-38 with 13:32 to go.
• Continuing to chip into the Spartan lead, Hawes canned a three at the 7:11 mark to give USM a slim 54-53 lead. The lead was short-lived however as CU answered with four straight points to lead 57-54, and the game went into see-saw action.
• Brown scored a bucket in the paint for the Spartans for a 64-61 lead with 3:45 to play before USM rattled off seven straight on four points from Ward and a three from Dixon to take the lead for good 68-64 with 1:37 to play.  Brown answered with a three to make it a one point game on the Spartans next possession but USM outscored CU 5-2 down the stretch, including a dagger of  a three from Ward to seal the win.

 
Inside the Stats: 

•  USM scored 30 of its 71 points in the paint and had 17 second chance points.  The Huskies had 12 offensive boards in the game led by six from Christopher. 
• Hawes' 20 points are a tie his career high.  He was 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-8 from three in the contest. He has scored in double-digits in 10 of the Huskies' 11 games.
• Ward was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the second half for USM, including a 3-for-3 mark from three-point range. USM shot 58.6 percent (17-for-29) from the field in the second half.

 
Up Next: 
Southern Maine is off for the semester break and will return to action in the New Year.  The Huskies will travel to Plymouth State on Wednesday, January 5 (7:30 pm). 
 
 
 Southern Maine Athletics has gone to fully digital game programs, please click this link to access the game programs to future Husky home events!