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MBB Team Huddle
James Liebowitz
57
Southern Me. USM 9-9,5-5 Little East
60
Winner Rhode Island Col. RIC 13-6,6-4 Little East
Southern Me. USM
9-9,5-5 Little East
57
Final
60
Rhode Island Col. RIC
13-6,6-4 Little East
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Me. USM 32 25 57
Rhode Island Col. RIC 27 33 60

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

Rhode Island College Rallies for 60-57 Win Over Huskies

 PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island  –  Ousmane Kourouma scored 20 points, including the go-ahead free throws, to lead the Rhode Island College Anchormen to a 60-57 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Murray Center.
 
Kourouma had a double-double with his 20 points and game-high 12 rebounds, shooting 7-for-12 from the field and 6-for-9 from the free throw line.  Deyshawn Tengbeh joined Kourouma with a double-double adding 14 points and 11 rebounds as the only other RIC player in double-figures.
 
Senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) led all scorers with 22 points, adding a team-high nine rebounds.  Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) added 15 points, four rebounds, and two steals. Senior Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) had eight points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot. 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (9-9, 5-5 Little East)
Rhode Island College (13-7, 6-5 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 145th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Rhode Island College Anchormen.  Rhode Island College leads the overall series 79-66, and won the December 6 contest 70-66 in Gorham.  Southern Maine last defeated the Anchormen 89-76 on January 25, 2023, ending a previous 12-game losing streak.
 
How It Happened:
  • Ahead by eight, 32-24, with 5:19 remaining in the first half following a turn-around jumper in the paint from Whelan, Southern Maine went cold from the field shooting 0-7 the rest of the half.  The Huskies remained in the lead, however, 32-27, at the break as RIC managed just one field goal during that same stretch, a three from Isaiah Dahl, with 1:04 on the clock.  Both teams combined for a 1-for-17 effort in the final five minutes.
  • RIC opened the second half with an 8-0 spurt on one-of-two free throws from Kourouma, layups from Tengbah and Kourouma, and finally a three from Dahl to take its first lead of the game, 35-32, with 16:25 left in the game. Conversely, the Huskies were held scoreless after the 15-minute mark, when Dixon connected on a driving layup to make it a 35-34 game in favor of RIC with 14:37 to go.
  • Both teams traded baskets and RIC opened up its largest lead of the game, 41-36, on back-to-back layups from Tengbeh and Kourouma at 13:34, before USM scored five unanswered points to knot the game up at 41 following a layup from Hawes with 11:05 to play.
  • Dahl hit his third three of the game (and the only threes for his team) to give RIC a 47-43 lead with just over nine minutes in regulation, but the Huskies' Dixon answered right back with a pull up jumper and a three of his own for a quick five-point swing and a narrow 48-47 lead with 8:06 remaining.
  • Again the Huskies and Anchormen traded baskets over the next several possessions, and two free throws from Whelan had USM ahead, 55-52, with 3:17 on the clock.  Following negative possessions from both sides, Kourouma converted a layup off of a feed from Tengbah, making it a 55-54 game. A Husky turnover on the next possession gave RIC back the ball, and Kourouma was fouled, sinking both free throws to give the Anchormen the lead for good 56-55 with 1:43 to play.
  • Kourouma's free throws were the last points of the game for the next 1:32. USM was 0-for-2 with a pair of turnovers on its next four possessions, and RIC's Craig Wilson went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to make it a 60-55 game. Hawes snagged an offensive rebound and hit a layup before time expired for the 60-57 final.
 
Inside The Stats:
  • Southern Maine finished the game shooting 37.7 percent (20-for-53) while RIC shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61). The Anchormen had eight more looks at the basket thanks in part to 14 offensive rebounds.  RIC scored nine of its 60 points on second chance efforts. 
  • The Huskies shot 36.4 percent from three (8-for-22) compared to 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from RIC.  The Anchormen had an advantage at the free throw line making 13-of-18 (72.2 percent). USM was strong fro the free throw line making 9-of-10.
  • RIC led in rebounding 44-32 (14-3 in offensive boards). 
 
Up Next:
The Huskies travel to  Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday, January 27 (3:00 pm). Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, January 31 (7:30 pm) against UMass Boston.  
-cac-
 
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