GORHAM, Maine  –  Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) scored 18 points and snagged 10 rebounds (both team-high totals) to record the first double-double of his career to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 70-64 win over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Thursday evening at Hill Gymnasium.
 
Whelan was 8-for-14 from the field to lead four Huskies in double figures, adding six assists.  Senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) had 15 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) added 13 points and five rebounds.  Freshman Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.) came off of the bench to toss in 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from three.
 
Josh Lopes led all scorers with 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting, adding four rebounds.   Isaac Percy had 11 points and five board, while Ryan Flauto had 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the bench.
 
The Records:
UMass Dartmouth (7-6, 4-1 Little East)
Southern Maine (7-7, 3-3 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 85^th time in series history that UMass Dartmouth and Southern Maine squared off.  UMass Dartmouth leads the overall series 71-14. The Huskies have won three of their last four meetings with the Corsairs. Southern Maine won the two regular season games against the Corsairs in 2022-2023.  UMass Dartmouth defeated the Huskies 77-75 in the 2023 LEC quarterfinals. 
 
How It Happened:

• In an evenly played opening half, that saw four lead changes and three tie scores, the Huskies and the Corsairs were knotted up at 18-18 at the 8:52 mark following a layup from Dixon.  UMD countered outscoring the Huskies 12-6 over the next four minutes to surge ahead 30-24 with 4:16 until the break.  Flauto score six of his 10 points in the Corsair run including an offensive rebound and putback for the 30-24 score.
• Down by two possessions, the Huskies outscored the Corsairs 9-3 in the closing minutes of the half, including seven straight points from Dixon in the final 2:13 of the half for a 33-33 score at the break.
• With Lopes scoring on a driving layup in the Corsairs first possession of the second half, UMD outscored the Huskies 11-5 in the first 3:30 of the second half, taking a 44-39 lead on a three from Jackson Zancan at 16:26.  However, the Huskies responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to surge ahead 49-44. Four different Huskies scored in the run started by a traditional three-point play from freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine).
• The Corsairs again rallied with five unanswered points, highlighted by a traditional three-point play from Lopes for a 49-49 score with 12:17 to go.  Both teams settled into a back-and-forth contest and two free throws from Zancan tied the game at 55-55 with 8:50 to play before the Huskies' Allen hit back-to-back threes for a 61-55 lead with 7:20 on the clock.  After Allen's key threes, the Huskies did not relinquish their lead the rest of the way.
• UMD cut the Husky lead to three twice, and trailed 65-62, on a jumper from Percy at the 3:46 mark, but Southern Maine's Hawes responded with a tough bucket in the paint and the Huskies outscored the Corsairs 5-2 down the stretch for the 70-64 final.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine lead UMD 32-26 in points in the paint, but the Corsairs led the Huskies in points off of turnovers (14-12), and bench points (15-14). The Huskies held a 35-29 lead on the boards.
• The Huskies finished the game shooting 53.7 percent (29-for-54) from the field and 38.5 percent (5-for-13) from three.  The Huskies shot 55.6 percent in the second half, making 15-of-27 from the floor.  UMass Dartmouth shot 41.7 percent (25-for-60) from the field.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies are on the road for their next two LEC games, traveling to VTSU-Castleton (January 13, 3:00 pm) and Plymouth State (January 17, 7:30 pm).