GORHAM, Maine – Senior
Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) finished one rebound shy of a triple double with 10 points, a career-best 10 assists, and nine rebounds as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the UMass Boston Beacons 72-65 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at Hill Gymnasium.
Hawes was 4-for-9 from the field to finish as one of three Huskies' in double-digit scoring. Senior
Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) led all scorers with 22 points on 6-for-9 shooting form the field and a 7-for-7 mark from the free throw line. Dixon added five reboudns and two steals. Sophomore
Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) also had a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.
Connor Walden led UMass Boston with 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals. He was 8-for-13 from the field. Emanuel Zayas had 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals as the only other Beacon in double-digits.
The Records:
UMass Boston (6-15, 5-7 Little East)
Southern Maine (11-9, 7-5 Little East)
Today's game marked the 113
th meeting between the UMass Boston Beacons and the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Southern Maine leads the overall series 68-46, and earned a 68-60 win on the road on January 3, 2024.
How It Happened:
- Trailing the Beacons 12-6 (13:33) after a steal and a layup from Fidendi Francois, the Huskies more than doubled the Beacons' scoring the rest of the half to lead 42-27 at the break. Outscoring UMB 36-15 in the final 13 minutes of the half, the Huskies used a 12-2 run to surge ahead of the Beacons, 18-14, with 9:46 to play highlighted by seven points from freshman Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.).
- After trading scored, USM led 21-18 with 8:21 on the clock before extending its lead to double-digits a 10-0 run. Four different players scored in the run led by five points from freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) who put the Huskies up 31-18 with a three at the 6:44 mark. Both the Huskies and Beacons traded baskets over the next 2:44, and Francois trimmed the UMB deficit to 10, 35-25, with a jumper, but Southern Maine closed the half on a 7-2 run to lead 42-27 at the break.
- The Beacons started the second half off strong, outscoring Southern Maine 10-5 in the first five minutes, to trail 47-37 (15:39) on a layup from Erik Donaldson. However, Southern Maine kept the Beacons at a distance and maintained its double-digit advantage for a majority of the second half. The Huskies went ahead, 62-50, on a three from freshman Madden White (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) with just over six minutes remaining in the game, before having to withstand a 15-5 run from the Beacons for a one-possession game, 67-65, with 1:54 to go.
- After White's three, Emanuel Zayes scored six consecutive points on a three and then three free throws to quickly bring the Beacons back, 62-56, with 5:22 to go. A traditional three-point play from Dixon stopped the Beacon run, but Zayas again drew contact and made two free throws to start another 6-0 run for a 65-62 game with 2:45 on the clock.
- Dixon once again stopped the run with two free throws of his own before Beacon Carson Meczywor drained a three on a feed from Zayas for a two-point game, 67-65. After an empty possession on both sides of the ball, Whelan made a driving layup with under a minute to go to start a 5-0 game-ending run for the Huskies and the 72-65 final.
Inside The Stats:
- Hawes' 23 points puts him at 908 points in his career. Averaging a career-best 12.39 points per game this season, Hawes has 908 points, 573 rebounds, 319 assists and 117 steals in 98 career games.
- Dixon's three three-pointers gives him 196 in his career. Currently second in USM career threes, Dixon trails Joe Cawley's program record of 230 (1988-92).
- Southern Maine shot 49.1` percent (28-for-57) from the field in the game, and outscored the Beacons 32-20 in the paint. The Huskies had 19 assists in the game. UMass Boston shot 40.0 percent (24-for-60) form the field.
- Whelan's double-double is his second of the season and second of his career. He had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 70-64 win versus UMass Dartmouth on January 11.
- Hawes' double-double is his second of the season and eight of his career. Hawes' previous career-high of nine assists occurred this season in a 75-67 win on the road at Plymouth State on January 17.
Up Next:
Southern Maine is on the road for its next two contests at Western Connecticut on Saturday, February 3 (3:00 pm) and at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, February 10 (3:00 pm).
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