GORHAM, Maine  - Junior Clay Kuhn (Winter Park, Fla.) had a team-high 17 points, knocking down 5-of-6 threes, to lead six players in double figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors 87-78 Thursday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
 
The Huskies shot 59.6 percent (28-for-47) from the field for the game and were a white-hot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) from three. Freshman Diego Colon (New Braunfels, Texas) scored a career-high 14 points off of the bench, while senior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) had 13 points and four assists. Junior Simon Chadboure (Westbrook, Maine) and freshman Mark Asare (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) each had 12 points.  Chadbourne was 4-for-5 from three, while Asare was 3-for-4 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.  Junior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Huskies with 10 points. 
 
Dominick Dao led Eastern with 17 points on 7-for-14 shootting. Dao added four assists, four steals, and five rebounds. Quinton Lott had 14 points and six rebounds, while Hunter Baillargeon added 15 points off of the bench, going 3-for-6 from three.
 
The Records:
Eastern Connecticut (6-10, 3-4 Little East)
Southern Maine (10-5, 4-2 Little East)
 
 
Series History:  Today's game marked 86^th meeting between Southern Maine and Eastern Connecticut.  Eastern Connecticut had won the last three consecutively and leads the series 55-31.  Southern Maine last defeated the Warriors January 18, 2020 95-93 at home.  Today's win snaps a three-game skid to the Warriors.
 
How It Happened:

• In a nip-and-tuck start to the first half, Southern Maine led by a possession 18-16 following a bucket from Warrior reserve Rakesh Tibby at the 10-minute mark.  Following Tibby's bucket, the Huskies took control rattling off an 11-0 run over the next 1:47 to lead 29-16 with 7:57 to play.  USM's Colon was pivotal in the run scoring eight of his 14 points. Both teams exchange scored the rest of the half, and a bucket from freshman Joe Longoria (New Braunfels, Texas) off of a feed from Hawes gave USM a 46-34 lead at the break.
• USM opened the second half on a 10-2 run and led 56-36 with 16:58 on the clock.  Four different players scored for the Huskies in the run led by threes from Dixon and Chadbourne for its largest lead of the game.
• The Warriors fought their way back over the next five minutes and trailed by five, 58-53, with 11:38 left using a 17-2 run.  Tibby and Max Lee each had five points for the Warriors in the run. The Huskies went 0-for-3 from the floor during that stretch and turned the ball over six times. 
• Down to a two possession lead, USM got a big basket from senior Jason Lombard (Anchorage, Alaska/Chugiak), and ECSU's Lee and Kuhn each exchanged threes for a 63-56 game in favor of the Huskies with just under 10 to play.
• A three from USM's Chadbourne and a layup from the Warriors' Baillargeon kept the game close, 68-61, before Hawes scored four straight to extend USM's led to 72-61 with 5:10 on the clock. A jumper from Lee pulled ECSU to with nine, 72-63, but the Huskies outscored the Warriors 9-4 over the next 2:51 to lead 81-67 with two to play. From there the Huskies got enough from the free throw line to hold for the 87-78 win.

 
Inside The Stats:

•  Southern Maine shot 61.1 percent (11-for-18) in the second half.  Kuhn (5), Chadbourne (4), Dixon (2) and Colon (1) accounted for all 12 of the Huskies' threes.
• USM was 19-for-21 from the free throw line, shooting 90.5 percent for the game.  Colon (5-for-5) and Asare (6-for-6) were perfect from the line.
• ECSU outrebounded Southern Maine 30-26.  The Warriors had 15 offensive rebounds, and scored 16 of their 78 points off of second chance efforts.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies hit the road for Saturday (3:00 pm) at Western Connecticut.  Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday (7:30 pm) against UMass Boston. Both games are Little East Conference match ups.