WATERVILLE, Maine – Sophomore Tommy Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) scored a game-high 23 points to lead four players in double figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Colby College Mules 89-72 in a non-conference men's basketball game Tuesday night at Harold Alfond Center.
Whelan was 9-for-17 from the field for his 23 points, adding eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. Freshman Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.) set a career-high with 22 points going 8-for-10 from the floor, including an outstanding 6-for-8 mark from three. Senior Chance Dixon (Lake Worth, Fla./Santaluces) added 21 points, five assists and four rebounds, while freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) tossed in 13 points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Max Poulton led Colby with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting, adding three rebounds and two assists. Lucas Green added 14 points, three assists and two blocked shots as the only other Mules in double-digits. Marco Montiel had nine points, and Sam Hinman added eight points.
The Records:
Southern Maine (11-10, 7-6 Little East)
Colby (11-10, 3-5 NESCAC)
Today's game marked the 60th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Colby College Mules, dating back to the first contest on February 3, 1976 – a 101-81 Colby win. Colby leads the overall series 43-16. Southern Maine last defeated Colby during the 2021-22 season, 74-71, on November 30, also on the road in Waterville. USM is 2-1 against Colby in its last three meetings.
How It Happened:
· Trailing from the start, Southern Maine gave up the first five points of the game and trailed 12-5 following a three from Colby's Max Poulton at the 13:38. Back-to-back threes from freshman Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) pulled USM to within one, 12-11, and started a 8-0 spurt as part of a larger 20-7 run to put Southern Maine in control.
· Outscoring the Mules 20-7 over the next 8:44 of the game, the Huskies went 7-for-14 from the field and 4-for-7 from three to surge ahead and lead 25-19 with less than five minutes until the halftime break. Saunders scored nine points in the run as six different Huskies figured in the scoring. Both teams finished the half scoring 14 points each and USM took a 39-33 lead into the locker room following a last-second three from freshman Justin Allen (Franklin, Mass.)
· Southern Maine opened the second half outscoring Colby 15-3 in the first five minutes of the second half and widened its lead to 54-36 with 15:28 on the clock. Whelan led the way for the Huskies in the opening minutes scoring nine points as USM was red-hot from the field going 5-for-6 (2-for-3 3FG) to start.
· Colby cut the Huskies lead to 14, 66-52, with just over 10 minutes to go in the half on a traditional three-point play from Lucas Green, but Southern Maine nearly doubled the Mules scoring over the next 3:59 to lead 81-60 with 5:40 to play. Again shooting at a solid clip (6-for-8 FG), senior Clay Kuhn (Orlando, Fla./Winter Park) had six points, while Allen had five. From there, the Huskies led by as many as 22 points, 83-61, with 4:18 to play on another three from Allen, and the Mules never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
Inside The Stats:
· Southern Maine finished the game shooting 53.3 percent (32-for-60) from the field, and 50.0 percent (12-for-24) from three-point range. The Huskies were 18-for-29 from the field in the second half (62.1 percent). Colby shot 45.9 percent (28-for-61) from the field and was 10-for-24 from three.
· Allen's 22 points mark the third time this season that he has scored in double-figures, and beats his previous career-high of 14 by eight points. Allen is 40-for 84 from three-point range this season, shooting 47.6 percent from beyond-the-arc.
· Whelan's game-leading 23 points marks the eighth time this season that the Huskies' sophomore has scored 20 or more points in a game. Whelan has 366 points this season to average 16.63 points per game.
Up Next:
Southern Maine is on the road at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, February 10 (3:00 pm). The Huskies return home on Wednesday, February 14 (7:30 pm) against UMass Boston.
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