NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Nic Boyd scored 22 points off of the bench, shooting 7-for-11 from the field, to lead three players in double-figures scoring as the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 79-66 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Tripp Athletic Center.
The Corsairs overcame an 14-point first-half deficit and outscored Southern Maine 42-27 in the second half to secure the regular season split with the Huskies. Boyd was 5-for-8 from three-point range for his game-high total. Isaac Percy and Ryan Flauto each had 17 points for UMD. Flauto was 7-for-7 from the field in 22 minutes as a reserve.
Sophomore
Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) led the Huskies with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Senior
Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) had 15 points, and freshman
Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) added 12 points. Senior
Cody Hawes (Carmel, Maine/Hermon) added 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Records:
Southern Maine (12-11, 7-7 Little East)
UMass Dartmouth (14-9, 11-3 Little East)
Today's game marked the 86
th meeting in series history between the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs and the Southern Maine Huskies. The Corsairs lead the overall series 72-14, but the Huskies were 3-1 against UMD in their last four meetings prior today's contest, including a 70-64 win earlier this season on January 11, 2024 in Gorham. Southern Maine won the two regular season games against the Corsairs in 2022-2023. UMass Dartmouth defeated the Huskies 77-75 in the 2023 LEC quarterfinals.
How It Happened:
- Southern Maine raced out to a 14-2 lead early in the half, and led by 14, 24-10, on a layup from sophomore Joe Longoria (New Braunfels, Texas) at 11:30. The Huskies were 9-for-10 from the field in the first 8:14 of the game, and 3-for-4 from three. Saunders led USM early scoring eight of his 12 points.
- The Huskies remained in front by double-digits and led 35-24 with 5:02 until the halftime break after a layup from junior Juneau Anicette (Orlanda, Fla,/Dr. Phillips), but the Corsairs closed the half on a 13-4 run to pull within a bucket, 39-37. Jackson Zancan had six points to lead UMD in the half-closing spurt, and Percy and Boyd and four and three points each.
- Back-to-back buckets from Hawes opened the second half, and USM extended its lead to 43-27 two minutes into the second half. However, Flauto and Boyd combined for eight points and UMD used an 8-2 run over the next 1:17 to tie the game up at 45 with 15:47 to play. From there both teams exchanged scores and the game remained tied at 53 with 10:31 to play on a layup from the Huskies' Dixon.
- With the game knotted up at 53, Percy hit a three for a 56-53 score and put the Corsairs ahead for good. Dixon made it a one-point with a driving layup with 9:00 to go, but the Corsairs took control with a 12-0 run and a 68-55 lead. With Boyd scoring seven of UMD's 12 points, the Corsairs went 4-for-5 from the field during the run (2-for-2 from three). Conversely, Southern Maine went 0-for-4.
- USM cut the lead to 10, but never got any closer for the 79-66 final.
Inside The Stats:
- Playing in his 100th game, Hawes had 923 points, 585 rebounds, 326 assists and 124 steals in his career. He is a career 49.93 percent shooter (357-for-715).
- Owning a 42-27 lead in rebounding, including a 17-3 advantage in offensive rebounds, UMass Dartmouth outscored USM 16-0 in second chance buckets.
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, February 14 (7:30 pm) against Plymouth State. The Huskies close out their regular season at home on Saturday, February 17 (3:00 pm) against Vermont State University Castleton.
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