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Justin Allen three
Deja Driscoll Smith
Freshman Justin Allen Hit A Dagger of A Three For the Huskies' Final Points in a 66-64 win
66
Winner Southern Me. USM 8-7, 4-3
64
Vermont State Castleton VTSU 5-11, 1-6
Winner
Southern Me. USM
8-7, 4-3
66
Final
64
Vermont State Castleton VTSU
5-11, 1-6
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Me. USM 33 33 66
Vermont State Castleton VTSU 31 33 64

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

Huskies Hold for 66-64 Win on the Road at VTSU-Castleton

Four Players in Double Figures for Huskies: Dixon (22), Hawes (14), Saunders (12), Whelan (10)

CASTLETON, Vermont  –  Senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) scored a game-high 22 points to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies battled the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans to a 66-64 win in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium. 
 
Dixon was 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-9 from three for the game-high total adding three assists, two steals and two rebounds. Dixon scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half to carry the load for Southern Maine. Senior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) added 14 points, a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals, while freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) tossed in 12 points an snagged five rebounds.  Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) added 10 points, five rebounds, five steals, two assists and two blocked shots.  Whelan scored all 10 of his points in the second half, while Hawes scored 12 of his 14.
 
Justin Schwarzbeck was 7-for-13 (4-for-8 from three) to lead the Spartans with 18 points, six rebounds and two assists.  Joe Russell added 13 points and five boards.  Conner Mckearnin added nine points off of the benc, shooting 4-for-8 from the field. 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (8-7, 4-3 Little East)
VTSU – Castleton (5-11, 1-6 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 33rd meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans.  Southern Maine leads the series 23-10 and has won the last 10 games over the Spartans.  In their last meeting, the Huskies defeated VTSU-Castleton 69-39 on January 28, 2023.
 
How It Happened:
  • Castleton raced out to a 7-3 early as Zach Thompson and Schwarzbeck combined for the first points for the Spartans.  Forced to play catch up, the Huskies tied the game at 16 on a three from freshman Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.) before the Spartans retook the lead on a jumper from Leonard Bride at the 10:38 mark. Down 18-16, the Huskies scored the next six unanswered on back-to-back threes from Dixon for a 22-18 lead with juster under 10 in the half. 
  • Dixon continued to carry the Huskies' offense but the Spartans stayed within two possessions of the Huskies for a majority of the half. A pair of free throws from Dixon at the 4:59 mark had the Huskies up 27-24, but Castleton rallied with five straight over the next two minutes to lead 29-27 on a three from Scott Lampron.  The Huskies were able to take a slim 33-31 lead headed into the half outscoring VTSU-Castleton 6-2 in the final two minutes on buckets from Dixon and Saunders which was followed by a steal from Dixon and layup from Hawes before the clock expired.
  • Castleton went ahead early 38-35 in the second on a layup from Schwarzbeck and a three from Russell, before the Huskies used a 11-0 run to open up its largest lead of the game, 46-38, with 13:11 remaining. Hawes scored five of USM's points in the run.
  • Despite the three-possession lead, the Huskies were unable to shake the Spartans and a layup from McKearin gave Castleton a 51-50 lead with 8:25 to play following a 13-4 Spartan run. After McKearin's bucket the Huskies and Spartans exchanged buckets and at the 4:34 mark Russell had VTSU-Castleton down by one, 59-58, with an offensive rebound and putback.
  • USM scored the next seven consecutively, including a dagger of a three from Allen with 1:33 on the clock to again assume an eight-point lead and seemingly had the game in hand.  However, Castleton went for back-to-back threes on its next two possessions from Scott Lampron and Schwarzbeck to trail 66-64 with 49 seconds to go. Forcing the Huskies into a turnover on their final possession, the Spartans got the ball back and had an open look but the go-ahead bucket was waived off as it was shot after the final buzzer.
 
 
Inside The Stats:
  • Southern Maine shot a solid 45.3 percent (24-for-53) from the field, and was 41.7 percent (10-for-24) from three.  The Huskies were also perfect from the free throw line, going 8-for-8.  Castleton finished the game shooting 46.6 percent (27-for-58), including a red-hot 60.87 (14-for-23) in the second half.  The Spartans were 1-for-1 from the free throw line.
  • With 22 points in today's game, Dixon now has 981 in his career and is 19 points from 1000.  Dixon is averaging 18.3 points per game this season, and is shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. 
 
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains on the road for an LEC match up at Plymouth State (January 17, 7:30 pm), before hosting nationally-ranked Keene State College on Saturday, January 20 (3:00 pm).
-cac-
 
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