PLYMOUTH, NH  –  Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) scored a game-high 24 points and had seven rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) scored his 1000^th career point, netting 19 points to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 75-65 win over the Plymouth State University Panthers Wednesday night in a Little East Conference men's basketball game at Foley Gymnasium.
 
Dixon scored 14 of his 19 in the second half to help Southern Maine fight off a furious comeback attempt from the Panthers, becoming the 28^th Husky in program history to score at least 1000 points in his career.  Dixon added five rebounds, an assists and a steal while shooting 6-for-15 from the field.  Whelan was 7-for-10 from the floor to lead all scorers, including a 4-for-5 mark from three.  Freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) had 11 points, five assists, and four rebounds for the Huskies.
 
Giorgi Tsiklauri led Plymouth State with a double-double racking up 17 points and 13 rebounds.  Kevin Newton-Delgado was a perfect 8-for-8 from the field for 18 points and five rebounds off of the bench, while Kyler Bosse tossed in 14 points. 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (9-7, 5-3 Little East)
Plymouth State (5-12, 1-7 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 151^st meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and Plymouth State University Panthers.  Southern Maine trails the all-time series 72-79.  The Huskies swept the Panthers in 75-62 (February 8) and 62-57 (January 4) during the 2022-23 season.  The Huskies have won four of the last five over PSU.
 
How It Happened:

• Whelan scored 10 of his 24 points in the opening nine minutes of the game as the Huskies raced out to a 21-2 lead over the Panthers.  Saunders started the Huskies with a three, and Bosse answered with a jumper for a 3-2 game early, but Southern Maine ran off 19 straight to take control.  The Huskies were 7-for-12 from the field during the run, including a 5-for-8 mark from three. 
• Led by eight points from Newton-Delgado, PSU cut into the Husky lead with a 10-2 run that spanned 4:09 to make it a 23-12 game with 5:57 to play, but USM stayed in front 38-24 at the half as Whelan and Saunders combined to score 11 of the Huskies final 15 points of the first.
• Whelan scored the first bucket of the second half to give the Huskies a 40-24 lead with 19:36 to play before the Panthers came alive shooting 9-for-11 from the floor over the next eight minutes to stage a 21-5 run, tying the game up at 45 with 11:16 to play.  Six different players scored for PSU in the surge led by five points from Tsiklauri and four points from Newton-Delgado, Bosse and Torran Bosworth.
• Both teams exchanged baskets and the lead in the ensuing plays.  A three from Bosse at 10:33 gave PSU its first lead of the game, 48-47, but it was short-lived as Husky senior Clay Kuhn hit a jumper at 10:13 for a 49-48 game. Kuhn scored again, this time a three, to give the Huskies some breathing room 52-48 with 9:34 on the clock.
• A three from Dixon had USM ahead 57-53 with just under seven to play, but PSU's Tsiklauri scored five straight on a three and two free throws to give the Panthers the lead for just the second time in the game, 58-57 with 5:56 on the clock.  Saunders countered with a three for the Huskies only to be copied by Panthers' Eli Pockette for another narrow PSU lead 61-60 with 4:48 to play.
• Down one after leading by as many as 21 points, Southern Maine took control in the in the final five minutes, outscoring PSU 15-6 for the 75-67 final.  The Huskies went 4-for-4 from the field during the last 4:48 of the game, including 2-for-2 from three. Dixon scored six of the Huskies' last 15, while Whelan had four. 

 
 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine shot 48.1 percent (25-for-52) from the field, and 42.4 percent (14-for-33) from three.  Plymouth State shot 41.9 percent (26-for-62), but were just 5-for-18 from three (27.8 percent).  The Panthers shot 57.7 percent in the second half.
• PSU led in rebounds 37-30 and had a 10-1 advantage on offensive boards.  PSU scored 11 of its 65 points on second chance buckets.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine hosts nationally-ranked Keene State College on Saturday, January 20 (3:00 pm). The Huskies are the road for its next two LEC contests after KSC, traveling to Rhode Island College on Wednesday, January 24 (7:30 pm) and Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday, January 27 (3:00 pm). 
-cac-