GORHAM, Maine – Junior
Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) scored six of his game-high 23 points in the second overtime period as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Western Connecticut State University Wolves 91-84 in double overtime in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday evening at Hill Gymnasium.
With the win, Southern Maine secures a home playoff game in the upcoming 2023 Little East Conference tournament. Excluding the 2022 playoffs that opened the competition to all nine teams to compensate for COVID-related scheduling issues, the Huskies last qualified for the LEC tournament in 2018 as the seventh seed. The Huskies last hosted a home playoff in 2016 as the second seed.
Dixon was 6-for-12 from three-point range and 8-for-14 overall adding four rebounds, and two assists. Junior
Simon Chadbourne (Westbrook, Maine) added 13 points and three steals, while junior
Clay Kuhn (Winter Park, Fla.) and freshman
Mark Asare (Roswell, Ga./Centennial) each added 12 points. Senior
Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) added seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
WestConn's Ryan Alkins led the Wolves with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jaheim Young tossed in 19 points, adding seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Jalen Jackson had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. In
The Records:
Western Connecticut (21-4, 12-4 Little East)
Southern Maine (16-9, 10-6 Little East)
Series History:
Meeting for the 63
rd time in series history, Western Connecticut leads the series 45-18. The Wolves defeated the Huskies 77-62 earlier this season, and had won the last two consecutively. Southern Maine last defeated WestConn on January 21, 2022 85-81 also in double overtime.
How It Happened:
- In a high-scoring first half, Southern Maine led 45-31 at the break. With the game knotted up at 22 at the 8:54 mark, the Huskies scored nine unanswered points to surge ahead 31-22 with 7:25 to play in the first. Jahlyl Morgan stopped the run with a layup for the Wolves, but the Huskies scored another eight straight to lead 39-24 with 5:14 on the clock following back-to-back threes from Dixon. From there the teams nearly went point-for-point until the half.
- The Wolves battled to back within seven, 49-42, outscoring the Huskies 11-4 in the first six minutes. Alkins capped the surge for the Wolves with an offensive rebound and a put-back.
- Another Dixon three gave USM a 10-point lead, 52-42, with 13:12 to play and the Huskies stayed in front by a similar margin and led by seven, 70-63, with 3:34 left in regulation after a layup from Asare. However, WestConn scored four unanswered points as part of a 9-2 run to close out the game and force overtime at 72-72, . Jackson scored seven of WestConn's nine points in the run, including a pair of threes.
- In the first overtime, Keeshawn Jones had the Wolves up 75-72 hitting a three on their first possession before USM scored the next five points to lead 77-75 following a go-ahead three from Asare. The Huskies' had a chance to close the game but missed on a dunk and Jones calmly hit two free throws in the final seconds to force a second overtime at 77-77.
- Both teams exchanged points to start the second overtime. The score was tied at 82 with 2:02 on the clock after Dixon and Jaysean Morgan each exchanged deep threes. Dixon gave the Huskies the lead for good on their next possession canning his sixth three of the game for an 85-82 lead. Alkins pulled WestConn to within one on a layup, but Kuhn scored on a driving layup for the Huskies, and Asare hit a pair of free throws to put the Huskies up 89-84 with 30 seconds to play. USM freshman Diego Colon (New Braunfels, Texas) scored the final two points at the free throw line for the final score.
Inside The Stats:
- The Huskies' 16 wins this season are the most in a season since the 1990-91 season when USM went 19-8. The Huskies 10 Little East Conference wins are the most in program history, surpassing the nine wins during the same 1990-91 season (9-1).
Up Next:
Southern Maine will compete in the 2023 Little East Conference tournament beginning with quarterfinal action on Tuesday, February 21 (7:00 pm) against UMass Dartmouth. The Huskies are the third seed and the Corsairs are the sixth seed.
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