GORHAM, Maine  –  Lucas Green and Will King combined for 42 points on 13-for-18 shooting from the field to lead the Colby College Mules to an 87-80 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.  
 
King scored nine of the Mules final 18 points of the game as Colby rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to earn its third straight win.  The Mules are now 5-0 on the road this season.
 
Junior Clay Kuhn (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) led all scorers with game and career-high 23 points.  Kuhn was 8-for-15 from the field (4-for-7 from three), and had three rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.  Junior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) added 15 points, while senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak) and junior Simon Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) chipped in with 11 and 10 points each.  Freshmen Mark Asare (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) and Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) had nine and eight points off of the bench respectively.  Whelan added five boards, three assists and two steals.
 
The Records:
Colby (11-1)
Southern Maine (7-5)
 
Series History:  Today's contest is the 59th meeting between the Mules and the Huskies, dating back to the first contest on February 3, 1976 – a 101-81 Colby win. With today's win, Colby leads the overall series 43-16.  Southern Maine defeated the Mules during the 2021-22 season, 74-71, on November 30. =
 
How It Happened:

• After Colby's Max Poulton scored the first seven points of the game, on a three, a jumper and two free throws, the Huskies responded to pull to within one 17-16 with 10:35 play.   
• With its lead trimmed to a single point, the Mules outscored the Huskies 11-2 over the next three minutes to snag a 10-point 28-18 lead with 7:13 to play. David Stewart hit back-to-back threes for the Mules in the run, while Liam O'Connell capped it with a three of his own.
• Led by Kuhn, the Huskies raced back into the game with a 12-2 run over the next two minute to tie the game up at 30. Kuhn scored eight of the Huskies' 12 in the run. Tied at 30, both teams exchanged baskets and Southenr Maine took its first lead of the game 35-32 on a three from Dixon with 3:52 to go. The game remained a back-and-forth contest and the Huskies led 45-43 at the break.
• Trading baskets, Colby led 54-52 on a three from Green with 15:05 to play before Southern Maine rattled off 12 unanswered points to take its largest lead of the game 64-54 with 12:47 left.  Chadbourne started the run with a three, and Kuhn added five straight to highlight.
• Colby responded however with a 12-2 run over the next five and a half minutes to tie the game up at 66-66, capped by a layup from King.  USM was 1-for-9 during that stretch.
• Five straight on a three from Kuhn and a jumper from Dixon gave USM a 71-66 lead over the next two possessions before both teams settled into the seventh tied score of the game 73-73 on a layup from Whelan with 3:49 to play.
• Colby took control of the game in the final three minutes, outscoring USM 14-7 down the stretch. King started the pivotal run for the Mules with a traditional three-point play to make it 76-73, and Green hit a three to give Colby a two-possession lead 79-73.  The Huskies pulled to within fur, 84-80 in the final seconds after a traditional three-point play from Whelan and a three from Chadbourne, but the Mules closed it out on the line for the 87-80 final.   

 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine outscored the Mules in the paint 36-24. 
• Colby had a huge advantage at the free throw line, making 24-of-32.  Southern Maine took 15 free throws and made 10.
• Led by nine rebounds each from Green, Jack Lawson and Jonah Obi, the Mules outrebounded Southern Maine 47-32, and had a 13-7 edge on the offensive boards.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies return to Little East Conference action on Wednesday (7:30 pm) against Plymouth State at home.