GORHAM, Maine  –  Michael Simonds and James McGowan combined to score 51 points on 20-for-40 shooting to lead the Bowdoin College Polar Bears to a 75-57 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference men's basketball game Thursday night at Hill Gymnasium. 
 
The win is the first of the season for Bowdoin (1-2), while the loss is the first of the season for the Huskies who are now 3-1 overall.  Facing each other for the 44^th time in series history, Bowdoin leads the series 27-17, and has won the last two over Southern Maine. 
 
The Records:
Bowdoin (1-2)
Southern Maine (3-1)
 
How It Happened:

• Southern Maine started out strong and led Bowdoin 20-11 with 7:31 to play in the opening half.  Sophomore Juneau Anicette (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) led USM with five points in the opening stretch, while junior Clay Kuhn (Winter Park, Fla.) had four points.
• Down three possessions, Bowdoin charged back into the game with a pivotal 14-0 run in a three minute span to lead 25-20 with 4:29 to play.  Michael Simonds had eight of the Polar Bears 14 points in the run, on back-to-back threes and a jumper in succession.
• USM senior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) stopped the run with a layup, but Bowdoin continued to put up big numbers outscoring the Huskies 10-1 in the final 3:24 of the half for a solid 35-23 lead.  Simonds finished the first half with 16 points, while McGowan had 12.  Anicette had five for USM, while Hawes, Kuhn and freshman Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) each had four.
• Husky junior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) scored the first bucket of the second half to make it a 10-point game, 35-25, but Bowdoin scored the next five unanswered to lead by 15, 40-25 with 18:27 to go.
• Bowdoin held a double-digit lead by 19, 65-46, with 7:23 on the clock, before five different Huskies combined to score 10 unanswered to trail 66-56 with 2:57 to play.  Simonds stopped the Husky run with a jumper for a 68-56 lead with 1:35 to go starting an game-closing 9-1 for the 75-57 final. .  

 
Inside The Stats:

• . Bowdoin shot 41.5 percent for the game (27-for-65) and was 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the free throw line.  Southern Maine shot just 34.8 percent (8-for-23) in the first half and bounced back to shoot 44.8 percent (13-for-29) in the second half, finishing the game at 40.4 percent
• Bowdoin led USM 41-32 on the boards.  McGowan had a double-double for Bowdoin with 11 rebounds to go with 25 points.  Hawes led USM with eight rebounds and finished with seven points.
• Dixon led USM with 12 points (5-for-11), while Kuhn had 10 points, 5 rebounds two assists and a blocked shot. 

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine hosts UMaine Presque Isle on Saturday (3:00 pm) in a non-conference game and then takes on Bates College on Tuesday (7:30 pm).