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Lausier vs UMD
James Liebowitz
Lausier had his 19th double-double of the season with 30 points and 10 rebounds
110
Winner Southern Me. SOUTHERN 12-13, 8-8
89
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT 4-20, 3-13
Winner
Southern Me. SOUTHERN
12-13, 8-8
110
Final
89
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT
4-20, 3-13
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 53 57 110
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT 42 47 89

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

Second Half Runs Propels Huskies to 110-89 Win Over VTSU-Castleton

Lausier (30), Whelan (30) and Saunders (21) Combine for 81 Points

CASTLETON, Vermont  – Graduate student Bryce Lausier (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) and junior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) each scored 30 points, and sophomore Brady Saunders (Brewer, Maine) had 21 to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 110-89 victory over the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gym.
 
Lausier earned his 19th double-double of the season snagging a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting from the field.  Whelan was 12-for-19 from the floor (2-for-3 from three) for his 30, adding seven rebounds. Saunders was an efficient 8-for-13 for 21 poitns, adding three rebounds, a team-high five assists and two steals. Sophomore Evan Willey (Casco, Maine/Bridgton Academy) added 14 points and seven rebounds.
 
Will Radcliff led the Spartans with 25 points on 11-for-19 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Ben Seiler and Conner McKearin had 18 and 14 points each.  Troy Butler scored 12 points off of the bench.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (12-13, 8-8 LEC)
VTSU-Castleton (4-20, 3-13 LEC)
 
 
Series History:  Today's game marked the 36th meeting between the Huskies and Spartans. Southern Maine leads the overall series 25-11. VTSU-Castleton snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Huskies earlier this season with an overtime win in January.  USM has won 25 of the last 26 meetings.
 
 
How It Happened:
  • Trailing the Spartans 34-30 after a Radcliff layup for his 13th points of the game at the 5:58 mark of the first half, Southern Maine closed out the first half with an offensive flurry shooting 9-for-12 from the field (2-for-3 from three) and 3-for-3 from the free throw line to outscore the Spartans 23-8 in the final 5:50 of the half. Saunders and Whelan each had seven points for the Huskies, while Lausier had six points.  Senior Juneau Anicette (Orlando, Fla.) scored three points in the run, including the final point as USM led 53-42 at the break.
  • Both teams exchanged baskets in the first two minutes of the second half, and the Huskies held a comfortable 61-49 advantage following a jumper from Whelan.  Spartans' Isaiah Francis made it a 10-point game, 61-51, with a layup at the 17:39 mark only to set off a string of six unanswered points from the Huskies pushing the lead to 16, 67-51 with less than a minute later.
  • Back-to-back jumpers from Saunders gave USM a solid 76-58 advantage with 13:45 to play before the Spartans roared back into the game over the next 3:43 of action with a 16-2 run to trail by 78-74 at the midway point of the second half. The Spartans were 6-for-8 from the field during that stretch and were led by eight points from Butler, and six from Seiler, including the three to make it a two-possession game.
  • Whelan stopped the Spartan run with a three on the Huskies' next possession, but  Butler scored his 12th point of the game off of the bench on a layup to make keep it a two-possession game, 81-76.  Moments later the Spartans were assessed a technical and Whelan scored four straight on two free throws and a layup to push the Huskies lead back to three possessions, 85-76, with 9:12 to play.
  • A traditional three-point play and a second layup from Radcliff kept the Spartans within striking distance to trail the Huskies 9-83with 6:42 remaining in the game. However the Huskies again turned up their offense and used a remarkable 20-3 run over the next 4:55 to lead 110-86 with 1:26 to play.  Five different players scored for Southern Maine in the pivotal run led by five points each from Lausier and Saunder as USM was 8-for-10 from the field (2-for-2 from three).  Conversely, the Spartans were ice cold at 1-for-9 and 0-for-5 from three while committing three of their 10 turnovers in the game.
  • After junior Diego Colon's two free throws put the Huskies up 110-86, VTSU-Castleton scored three more times from the free throw line for the 110-89 final.
 
Inside The Stats:
  • Southern Maine's 110 points marks the third time this season that the squad has reach at least 100 points in a game, and is the most points scored by the Huskies this season.  
  • Southern Maine shot 53.3 percent (42-for-79), and 46.2 (12-for-26) from three-point range. The Spartans shot 43.6 (34-for-78).  VTSU-Castleton also made 12 threes but on 34 attempts.
  • Led by Lausier's 10, the Huskies had a 42-31 lead in rebounding.
  • Southern Maine scored 20 points off of 10 Castleton turnovers.
 
 
Up Next:
Securing a spot in the 2025 Little East Conference men's basketball championship, Southern Maine is the fifth seed. The Huskies will travel to fourth-seed UMass Boston for a quarterfinal game on Tuesday, February 25 (7:00 pm).  The winner will advance to the semifinals to face 2025 regular season champion Keene State College on Thursday (7:00 pm)
 
 
-cac-
 
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