GORHAM, Maine  –  Senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) tied his career-high with 32 points, including 20 in the second half, to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 77-70 come-from-behind win over the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners in a non-conference men's basketball game Monday night at Hill Gymnasium.
 
Dixon was 14-for-28 from the field, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, had three assists and three steals to fill up the stat sheet.  Dixon was one of three Huskies in double-figures. Freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) had 18 points, knocking down 4-of-8 from three, while sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) tossed in 12 points shooting 5-for-9 from the floor. 
 
The Records:
Maine Maritime Academy (2-1)
Southern Maine (2-0)
 
Tonight's game marked the ninth meeting between the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners and the University of Southern Maine Huskies.  With tonight's win, the Huskies remain undefeated against the Mariners at 9-0.  The Huskies defeated MMA on November 15, 2022, 71-65, in their last meeting.
 
How It Happened:

• In a closely contested first half, Maine Maritime took a 37-35 lead into the halftime break. Carter Rubin tied the game up at 35 with one of two free throws, before Jack Banks secured a steal and then assisted on a layup from Josiah Dancy for the one possession lead. Dancy had 10 first-half points for the Mariners. 
• MMA outscored Southern Maine 7-2 in the opening four minutes the second half to led 47-40 with 16:26 remaining to play. Buckets from Dixon and Whelan brought the Huskies' deficit to 49-44 with 15:31 to go, but the Mariners rattled off another 7-2 run to lead by 10, 56-45 with 11:42 showing. Dancy led the mini-run with a layup which included a three from Markus Ramirez, and a jumper from Isaiah Oquendo.  
• Trailing by three possession, 58-49, midway through the half, Saunders hit a pair of free throws at the 10:02 mark to start a quick 9-2 run for the Huskies capped by a jumper from Whelan to make it a one possession game, 60-58 (6:51), with 7:28 to go.
• Fouled on a three-point attempt, Oquendo made two of three from the line to make it a 62-58 lead for MMA, before Dixon took over scoring the Huskies next nine points, outscoring MMA 9-5 on his own, to give USM a 67-65 lead.  Dixon's three at the 4:45 mark gave Southern Maine its first lead of the second half and its first lead since a 35-34 first half advantage with 1:50 in the half.  
• Ramirez answered for MMA with a layup to bring the Mariners level, but junior Juneau Anicette's (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) layup gave the Huskies the lead for good, 69-67 with 3:35 to play. 
• Another three from Ramirez at the 2:10 mark put MMA within striking distance, 71-70, but the Huskies held the Mariners scoreless over the next 130 seconds and Saunders hit a dagger of a three with less than a minute remaining as part of a 7-0 run to end the game for the 77-70 final.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Four players scored in double figures for MMA led by 18 points from Oquendo.  Dancy had 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists, while Ramirez and Rubin each had 13 points.  Curt Heinz led all rebounders with 13. 
• Saunders is averaging 15 points per game over the first two games of his intercollegiate career, and is shooting 50.0 percent (6-for-12 from three).
• Dixon has started his 2023-2024 season red hot, averaging 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Dixon's 32 points in today's game matches his career high. 
• The Huskies are shooting 41.7 percent from three (20-for-48), and had 10 three-pointers in today's game.  Dixon and Saunders lead USM with six threes a piece over two games.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies are back in action on Wednesday (7:30 pm) against Saint Joseph's College and then will hit the road for a game at UMaine Presque Isle on Saturday (1:00 pm).
 
-cac-