Contributions from Little East.
GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine Huskies' 1988-1989 Men's Basketball team, led by Hall of Fame Coach Bob Brown and with a roster full of Mainers, will be enshrined into the Little East Conference (LEC) Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2024. One of the most successful teams in the early years of the Little East Conference, the 1988-1989 Huskies became the first men's basketball program from the LEC to advance to the NCAA Division III Final Four, and signifies the third University of Southern Maine team to be inducted into the LEC Hall of Fame, joining 1987-88 women's basketball team and the 1997 baseball team.
The Little East Conference is inducting 10 individuals and one team as part of its 2024 Hall of Fame class. Members are nominated by their alma maters and voted upon by the league's nine Athletic Directors, and includes individuals representing each Little East institution. The Huskies' 1988-1989 men's basketball team will enter Little East Conference Hall of Fame along with Class of 2024 members Peyton Dostie Collins '16 of the Huskies' field hockey, and track & field teams, and Sam Dexter '16 from Huskies' baseball. The University of Southern Maine Department of Athletics will honor the 88-89 men's basketball team during the 2024-2025 academic year at a time to be determined.
Posting an overall record of 24-7 on the way to becoming the 1989 Little East Conference Champions and advancing to the Final Four, the Huskies' 24 wins (and 31 games played) remain program records to this day. Southern Maine won its first LEC regular season title before capturing the program's first, and to-date only LEC tournament title that season. The Huskies had an opening round bye as the LEC tournament's No. 1 seed, and advanced to the LEC title game for the third consecutive season with a 90-77 win over Rhode Island College. USM then routed Plymouth State to take home the championship and secure the LEC's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament, 84-66.
USM won three consecutive NCAA tournament games to advance to the Final Four defeating defeating North Adams State (88-80), Western Connecticut (90-88) and Franklin & Marshall (79-71). The Huskies' season-best eight-game winning streak ended with an 84-62 loss to Trenton State in the national semifinals before they rebounded to defeat Centre in the Third-Place game, 81-70.
Inducted into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 as a team, Southern Maine was led by forward Jeff Bowers, who was named the 1988-89 LEC Player of the Year on his way to being named First Team All-District by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) after averaging 20.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He was later named to the LEC Men's Basketball 25th Anniversary Team, alongside forward Tim Bonsant, who was second to Bowers in scoring (13.8 ppg) and led the team in rebounding (8.0 rpg) that season. Bowers was one of five players named to the 1989 NCAA Division III All-Tournament Team. Recent Husky Hall of Fame inductee Todd Miranda, who finished his career with 1163 points and 570 assists, was also a key member of the Huskies' 1988-89 team. Bowers and Bonsant are both members of the Little East Conference Hall of Fame, and the Husky Hall of Fame.
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