Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Freshman Trevor Ward (West Park, Fla./McArthur) snagged an offensive rebound and scored the put back with less than a second remaining in regulation to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 62-60 win over the University of New England Noreasters Sunday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.

            With the win, Southern Maine starts its 2021 season at 2-0.  UNE is now 0-2, falling to the Huskies for the second straight day.  The Huskies defeated the Noreasters by two points on Saturday, 85-83. 

            Ward was one of four players to hit double digits in scoring for Southern Maine , finishing with 12 points, three assists and two rebounds.  Senior Keenan Hendricks led the Huskies with 17 points, knocking down five three-pointers.  Hendricks added 10 points, and four assists for a double-double. Senior Derek Haney (Auburn, Calif./Placer) had 15 points and nine rebounds, while sophomore Marcus Christopher added 12 points, and a monster 21 rebounds, including eight offensive boards.  Christopher's 21 rebounds helped Southern Maine to a 56-38 advantage on the glass.

            Senior Alex Kravchuk (Mansfield, Conn./E.O. Smith) led all scorers with a game-high 21 points for UNE. Kravchuck was 7-for-17 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line.  Senior Jordan Bagshaw (Cumberland, Maine/Greely) added 13 points and seven rebounds, while seniors Blake Smith (Wilmington, N.C./New Hanover) and Ric Castillo (Methuen, Mass./Hebron Academy) each had nine points. 

            With both teams shooting in the 30s for the first half, neither team led by more than two possessions.  Southern Maine led 25-24 with 2:34 to play following an offensive rebound and a put back from Christopher, before the Noreasters scored the next five points on a back-to-back buckets from Castillo on a three and a layup to snag a 29-25 lead.  The Huskies scored the final bucket of the half on a layup from junior Jason Lombard (Pelham, N.H./Chugiak) to trail 29-27 at the break. 

            The game remained close in the second, and USM remained behind by a bucket, 37-35, with 14:08 to play before UNE rattled off a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the game, 46-37, with 11:07 to play.  Bagshaw scored five of the Noreasters' points in the run.

            Bagshaw kept his team in front by nine, 49-40, with a traditional three-point play, scoring the basket and earning the free throw with 7:50 to play before the Huskies mounted a comeback. Down by three possessions, the Huskies outscored UNE 17-7 over the next six minutes to inch ahead of the Noreasters 57-56 with 1:50 to play. Haney scored six points in the run, including back-to-back threes, while Lombard added four points.  Christopher sank two free throws to push USM ahead setting up a neck-and-neck finish.

            Kravchuck responded for UNE with a another driving layup in the paint to give his team the lead 58-57 on the next play, before Hendricks drilled a three, his fifth of the game, to give USM a 60-58 margin with 1:20 remaining.  On the next play, UNE senior Avery DeBrito (New Bedford, Mass./Bishop Stang) knotted the score up at 60 with a layup.  Each team squandered a possession moving forward, and the Huskies had the ball with 13 seconds play.  After the Huskies' initial shot fell short, Ward came up with the eventual game-winning rebound and put back with 0.8 seconds remaining.