GORHAM, Maine - Closing out its regular season with a thrilling 91-84 double-overtime win against Western Connecticut State University, the University of Southern Maine Huskies men's basketball team will be the third seed in the upcoming 2023 Little East Conference Championship Tournament. The Huskies will host sixth-seed UMass Dartmouth Corsairs on Tuesday, February 21 (7:00 pm). The winner of the 3/6 game will advance to play second-seed Western Connecticut State on Thursday, February 23.
Southern Maine has won its last two games consecutively, and are 4-1 in the month of February with conference wins over UMass Dartmouth (91-86), Plymouth State (75-62), UMass Boston (76-60) and Western Connecticut (91-84 ot). The Huskies have swept the Corsairs in the 2022-23 series earning a 77-74 win on the road on January 7, and a more recent 91-86 win at home on February 4.
Southern Maine's 10 conference wins are the most since the 1989 season. The Huskies third seed for the tournament marks the first hosting rights since the 2016 (excluding the 2022 playoffs that opened the competition to all nine teams to compensate for COVID-related scheduling issues.) The Huskies last hosted a home playoff in 2016 as the second seed.
Who: No. 6 UMass Dartmouth vs. No. 3 Southern Maine
When: Tuesday, February 21, 2022 – 7:00 pm
Where: Hill Gymnasium (Fifield Court), University of Southern Maine – Gorham
What: 2023 Little East Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Quarterfinal
Southern Maine (9-16, 4-12 Little East)
Championships: 1 (1989)
LEC Tournament Record: 16-28 (.359), 27 appearance
Finals Appearances: 6
Finals Record: 1-5
Last Finals Appearance: 2000
Players to Watch: Chance Dixon, Jr., Guard, 13.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1.8 apg;
Cody Hawes, Sr., Guard/Forward, 10.7 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.2 spg;
Simon Chadbourne, Jr., Guard, 8.1 pp, 3.8 rpg, 1.4 apg;
Clay Kuhn, Jr., Forward, 8.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg.
UMass Dartmouth (8-17, 7-9 Little East)
Championships: 12 (2021)
LEC Tournament Record: 46-24 (.661), 35 appearances
Finals Appearances: 17
Finals Record: 12-5
Last Finals Appearance: 2022
Players to Watch: Dhalyn Sanders-Dyer, Sr., Guard, 16.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.5 spg; Isaac Percy, Jr., Guard, 12.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.0 spg; Jackson Zancan, Sr., Forward, 12.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, 0.9 spg
Final 2022-23 LEC Standings
- Keene State (16-0)
- Western Connecticut (12-4)
- Southern Maine (10-6)
- Eastern Connecticut (10-6)
- UMass Boston (8-8)
- UMass Dartmouth (7-9)
- Rhode Island College (6-10)
- Plymouth State (3-13)
- Castleton University (0-16)
2023 LEC Tournament Schedule (all games hosted by higher seeds)
Tuesday - Feb. 21 - Quarterfinals
No. 3 Southern Maine vs No 6. UMass Dartmouth
No. 4 Eastern Connecticut vs No. 5 UMass Boston
Thursday - Feb. 23 - Semifinals
No. 1 Keene State vs. No. 4/5 Winner
No. 2 Western Connecticut vs. No. 3/6 Winner
Saturday - Feb. 25 - Final
Semifinal Winners
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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