For more information contact Christina Cracolici
Director of Athletic Communications
Saturday, January 10, 2026
 
For Immediate Release
Men's College Basketball
Southern Maine Pushes Past VTSU-Castleton 78-74
CASTLETON, Vermont   -  Senior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) scored a game-high 27 points to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies earned a 78-74 win over the VTSU-Castleton Spartans in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gym. 
 
Helping secure the Huskies second consecutive win in LEC action, Whelan was 5-for-12 from the field and 4-for-9 from three to go with a perfect 13-for-13 from the free throw line for his game-high total. He added six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophomore Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) had 13 points on 4-for-7 shooting with three blocks and two steals.  Freshmen Carter and Cohen Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Kents Hill/Oceanside) continued their strong contributions off of the bench. Cohen had 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, while Carter had 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
 
Joe Buxton led the Spartans with 18 points off of the bench, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, including a 4-for-5 mark from three. Will Radcliff added 16 points, six rebounds and two assists. 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (8-6, 3-2 Little East )
VTSU Castleton (5-9, 0-5 Little East)
 
Today's contest marked the 37^th meeting between the Huskies and Spartans. Southern Maine leads the overall series 26-11. VTSU-Castleton snapped an 11-game losing streak to the Huskies during the 2024-2025.  USM has won 26 of the last 27 meetings.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Huskies trailed the Spartans by seven, 39-32, with 1:56 remaining in the opening half following an and-one play from Ethan Lussier, but Southern Maine bounced back to trail by three, 41-38, headed into the break as freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) and Whelan went for back-to-back three-pointers for a 6-2 run to close the half.
• Sophomore Noah Dowling (North Narabeen, Australia/St. Augustine's) tied the game up early in the second half with a three to make it a 43-43 game at the 18:16 mark and the game went back-and-forth over the next several possessions.
• Sterling tied the game up again, 51-51, with just under 15 to go in regulation with a three-pointer, and then scored the next five Husky points to help USM to an 8-1 run to take the lead for good 56-52 with 13:50 to go.
• USM grew its lead to nine, 65-56, on back-to-back threes from Cohen Galley for a three-possession lead at the 8:56 mark. The Huskies remained in front of the Spartans the rest of the way.  Radcliff pulled VTSU-Castleton to within four, 71-67, with 3:23 on the clock a jumper from Carter Calley, and two free throws from graduate student Andrew Hartel (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) extended the lead to 75-67 with just over 30 seconds to play. From there, USM got enough from the foul line to close out the game for the 78-74 win.

 
Inside The Statistics:

• Southern Maine finished the game shooting 42.9 percent (21-for-49) from the field, and 89.7 percent (26-for-29) from the free throw line.  VTSU-Castleton shot 45.6 percent (31-for-68) from the field and was just 2-for-5 from the free throw line
• The Spartans scored 13 second-chance points and outscored USM 32-16 in the paint. USM had a 34-32  lead in rebounding.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to Hill Gym on Wednesday, January 14 (4:00 pm) against UMass Dartmouth and then again versus Eastern Connecticut on Saturday, January 17 (3:00 pm). The Huskies are then on the road for its next two contests at Plymouth State on Wednesday, January 21 (7:00 pm) and Saturday, January 24 (3:00 pm at WestConn.
           
 
-cac-