DANBURY, Conn. – Keeshwan Jones scored a game-high 25 points on 9-for-14 shooting to lead three players in double-figures as the WestConn Wolves held for a 76-74 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.
Jones scored 15 of his 25 points in the second half to help the Wolves fight off a surging Huskies' squad. Jourdan Belcher scored 19 points and had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a blocked shot, while Cameron Gallon added 10 points and eight rebounds. Tayejon Lynch added eight points, five assists, three steals and three rebounds in a strong effort off of the bench.
Junior
Thomas Whelan (Bronx, N.Y./Fordham Prep) had 21 points, six rebounds, and five assists to lead Southern Maine, making 7-for-12 from the field. Junior
Diego Colon (New Braunfels, Texas) had 16 points, while graduate student
Bryce Lausier (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) added a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four assists.
The Records:
Southern Maine (6-8, 2-3 Little East)
WestConn (8-6, 4-1 Little East)
Series History: Today's game marked the 65
th meeting between the WestConn Wolves and the University of Southern Maine. WestConn leads the overall series 47-18 after today's win. The Huskies split the 2023-2024 series, but the Wolves have won the last two consecutively.
How It Happened:
- WestConn took a 10-point lead with 10:04 remaining in the contest on a layup from Belcher following an assist from Lynch, but found itself in a one-point battle with the Huskies five minutes later 67-66 with 4:12 showing on the clock.
- After Belcher's layup put the Wolves up double-digits, Southern Maine used a 13-4 run to get itself back into the contest. The Huskies were 4-for-5 from the floor during that stretch, and defensively held WestConn to one field goal and forced the Wolves into four turnovers. Freshman Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mount Blue) had five of the Huskies' points in the run.
- The Wolves responed with five unanswered points to lead by two possessions, 72-66, with 2:40 remaining in regulation, before Colon took over for the Huskies scoring eight of his 16 points as part of an 8-2 Husky run to tied the game up at 74 with just 39 seconds on the clock. Colon had a pair of threes, including the game-tying bucket, and two free throws in the Huskies' surge.
- After a Wolves' timeout, WestConn and Southern Maine each turned the ball over on their next possessions. Jones came up with the pivotal steal for WestConn with eight seconds remaining to give the Wolves the ball back, and fed Lynch for a layup and a 76-74 lead with four seconds to go. Southern Maine called a time out and drew up a play, but the Huskies' look at the basket did not fall and the Wolves held for the win.
Inside The Stats:
- Lausier's double-double is his 10th of the season. He is averaging 23 points and 11.9 rebounds per game while shooting 51.1 percent from the field.
- Southern Maine shot 42.6 percent (23-for-54) from the field, but were atypically below 30 percent from three shooting 8-for-27 (29.6 percent). WestConn shot 47.6 percent (30-for-63) from the field.
- WestConn won the turnover battle as USM committed 20 turnovers to the Wolves 16. WestConn scored 21 points off of USM turnovers, while USM scored 11.
Up Next:
Southern Maine heads to UMass Dartmouth on Thursday, January 16 (6:00 pm). The Huskies return home to host VTSU-Castleton on Saturday, January 18 (2:00 pm) in conference action.
-cac-
