STANDISH, Maine  –   Remijo Wanie scored a team-high 27 points and had eight assists to lead five players in double-figures as the Saint Joseph's College (Maine) Monks defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 98-86 in a non-conference men's basketball game Sunday night at Mike McDevitt Court. 
 
Wani was 11-for-23 from the field for 27 points.  Wani Donato had 19 points and nine rebounds on 8-for-13 shooting, while Silvano Ismail had a double-double with 17 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.  Pitia Donato added 13 points off of the bench, and John Paul Frazier tossed in 11 points.
 
Southern Maine was led by a game-high 31 points from junior guard Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep). Whelan was 13-for-20 from the field, adding four assists. Graduate student Bryce Lausier (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) was 9-for-19 from the field for 29 points, and eight rebounds and two assists.  Sophomore Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) added 14 points, going 6-for-9 from the floor) with four rebounds, and two assists.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (4-2)
Saint Joseph's (5-2)
 
Series History:  Today's contest is the 75th meeting between the Monks and the Huskies, dating back to the first contest on November 30, 1972 – a 66-62 win for Southern Maine.  USM leads the overall series 38-37.
 
Costello Cup: Today's contest also marks the 34th game in the Costello Cup series between the two schools. With the win, SJC retains the cup for the first time since 2022.
 
 The Costello Cup is presented annually to the winner of the contest between the rival schools and honors the late Dr. Richard "Doc" Costello, former USM Athletic Director and long-time basketball coach for both the men's and women's programs.  SJC won the 2018 contest 83-79 and 2022 contest 72-52, while the Huskies claimed the 2019 cup 98-91, and the 2021 cup 86-74. SJC leads the Costello Cup series 19-14. USM had won three of the last four (2019, 2021, 2023).
 
How It Happened:

• Wani and Donato combined for 26 first-half points as the Monks raced out to a 52-38 lead at the break. The Monks shot 50.0 percent (23-for-46) from the field in the opening half. Frazier canned a three to start the game for the Monks and SJC led wire-to-wire in the contest. 
• After Frazier's three on the Monks' opening possession, SJC raced out to a 12-2 lead in the first 3:05 of the contest.  The Monks led by 14, 25-11, midway through the half on a three from Donato at the 10:01 mark, and led by as many as 17 points, 45-38, with 3:17 until the break.
• Southern Maine battled back in the second half, outscoring the Monks 18-11 in the first 5:30, to trail 63-56 with 14:27 to play, capped by a traditional three-point play from USM sophomore Madden White (Newport, Maine/Nokomis Regional). However, SJC quickly pushed the game back to a double-digit deficit for the Huskies with a three from Wani, and a layup from Ismail for a 68-52 lead with 13:31 to go.
• A Donato layup at 9:40 made the game, 79-65, in favor of the Monks before the Huskies pushed back with an 8-0 run to make it a two-possession game, 79-73, with 8:20 to go.  Whelan and Lausier scored four points in for USM. 
• The Huskies hung around and but could never get closer than the six-point deficit the rest of the way.  A layup from Whelan with 2:02 to play made it 91-84, but the Monks closed the game outscoring USM 7-2 in the final minutes for the 98-86 final.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine shot a solid 52.4 percent (33-for-63) from the field. SJC shot 46.5 percent (40-for-86) and benefitted from 25 second-chance points. The Monks used a 44-22 advantage on the glass to earn the win. Saint Joseph's had 19 offensive rebounds in the contest led by four each from Silvano Ismail, John Paul Frazier and Pitia Donato.
• Whelan's 31 points are a career-high for the Huskies' junior. Whelan has scored 20 or more points in four of the Huskies' six games this season.  He set his previous career-high (27 points) in an 83-70 win over Nichols earlier this season.

 
 
Up Next:
The Huskies are on the road at Eastern Connecticut State on Wednesday, December 4 (7:00 pm) to start their Little East Conference schedule.  Southern Maine hosts Salem State in a non-conference game on Saturday, December 7 (1:00 pm).
 
 
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