GORHAM, Maine  –   Sophomore Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) and junior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) combined to score 35 of the Huskies 68 points as the University of Southern Maine used a second-half push to defeat the Castleton University Spartans 68-62 in the first round play-in game of the 2022 Little East Conference men's basketball tournament Monday night at Hill Gymnasium.
 
The win marks the Huskies first playoff victory since the 2012-2013 season (85-65, UMass Boston, February 19).  Dixon and Hawes were two of three players in double figures for USM and were joined by senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak).  Lombard had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists. 
 
The Records: 
Castleton (5-21)
Southern Maine (10-16)
 
Series History:  Tonight's match up with the Spartans marked the 29^th time Southern Maine has faced Castleton in series history.  With the win, Southern Maine goes 3-0 against the Spartans this season, and leads the overall series 19-10.
 
Standout Huskies: Sophomore Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) 18 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assists, 1 steal; junior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) 17 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak) 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals; sophomore Clay Kuhn (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) 9 points, 3 rebounds.
 
Standout Spartans:  Senior Eric Shaw (Sutter Creek, Calif./Yuba College) 30 points, 4 rebounds, 10-for-15 3-FGs; sophomore Darrell Hardge (Miami, Fla./Fort Lauderdale) 10 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds; graduate student Oluwadare Sowunmi (Harlem, N.Y./A Phillip Randolph) 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; sophomore Justin Schwarzbeck (Newburgh, N.Y./Marlboro) 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks.
 
How It Happened: 

•  Snagging a big lead, 21-8, on a layup from Lombard at the 8:44 mark, Southern Maine looked comfortably in front of the Spartans.  However, Castleton would rattle off the next nine points unanswered  - all threes from Shaw – and outscore USM 22-9 to close out the half and head into the halftime break tied 30-30.
• Shaw was lights out from three for the Spartans making 6-of-9 in the first half. A three from Hardge gave the Spartans their first lead of the game, 25-24, with 3:20 to play as CU finished the half with seven three-pointers.  Both teams traded baskets and a jumper from freshman Johnny Torrence (Lakeland, Fla./Santa Fe Catholic) made it 30-29 with a minute to go. After a series of missed chances at both ends of the floor, USM tied the score at 30 with one of two free throws from Dixon.
• Castleton continued its hot shooting to open the second opening with a 13-5 run in the first five minutes to lead 43-35 with 15:14 to play. Shaw sank two more threes in that series, while Hardge added one.
• The Huskies countered with a big run of their own, outscoring the Spartans 14-5 over the next four minutes to take back a lead 49-48. Hawes scored five of USM's 14 points in the run, while Dixon added four and sophomore Simon Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) put USM up with a three at 11:27.
• CU's Torrence made it 50-49 with a layup at the 10:18 mark before USM scored five straight on a three from Kuhn, followed by a steal from Dixon and a layup from Lombard to give the Huskies the lead for good 54-50 with 8:44 to go.
• Shaw hit his 10^th three of the game with just over five minutes to play and Sowunmi connected on a layup to put Castleton within a point of USM, 61-60, with 4:19 to play, but USM's Marcus Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) scored on a strong move in the paint to extend the lead back to three.
• CU again pulled to within a point on two free throws from Torrence to make it 63-62 (3:26), but it was the last points of the game for the Spartans as Kuhn hit a layup and Hawes hit a three for the 68-62 final. The Spartans turned the ball over twice in its final five possessions.

 
Inside the Stats: 

• USM outscored the Spartans 30-14 in the paint, and scored 17 points off of Castleton turnovers.  The Spartans committed 17 turnovers in the game – 12 in the second half.
• Castleton was 7-for-16 from three in the first half and finished the game 12-for-31 from three (38.7 percent). 
• Led by Kuhn, USM's bench outscored the Spartans' bench 17-6.   

 
Up Next: 
Southern Maine will travel to 2021-2022 LEC Regular Season Champion and No. 1 seed UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday (7:15 pm) for a quarterfinal matchup with the Corsairs.  The Huskies are seeded eighth.  
 
 Southern Maine Athletics has gone to fully digital game programs, please click this link to access the game programs to future Husky home events!
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