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Southern Maine 81, Eastern Connecticut 70
James Liebowitz
Thomas Whelan had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists at Plymouth State
77
Winner Southern Me. USM 11-6,6-2 Little East
69
Plymouth St. Plym 6-11,2-6 Little East
Winner
Southern Me. USM
11-6,6-2 Little East
77
Final
69
Plymouth St. Plym
6-11,2-6 Little East
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern Me. USM 37 40 77
Plymouth St. Plym 25 44 69

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

Southern Maine Fights Off Plymouth State 77-69


PLYMOUTH, NH   -  Senior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) had a game-high 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 77-69 win over the Plymouth State University Panthers in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at Foley Gymnasium.
 
Whelan was 13-of-13 from the free throw line in the contest, and went 6-for-15 from the field.  Freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) added 17 points, four rebounds and two steals on 5-for-7 shooting, while graduate student Andrew Hartel (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) had 11 points, four rebounds, and five blocked shots.
 
Torran Bosworth led PSU with 20 points on 6-for-19 shooting. Brady Hulland added 11 points and three assists, while Yansel Reyes had 10 points, four assists and two steals.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (11-6, 6-2 Little East)
Plymouth State (6-11, 2-6 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 155th meeting between the Plymouth State University Panthers and the University of Southern Maine Huskies.  Southern Maine trails the all-time series 76-79; however, Huskies have won eight of the last nine over PSU. The Huskies defeated the Panthers at home 65-59 on February 19, 2025 in their most recent matchup.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • Leading by four, 19-15, at the 8:49 mark after PSU's Keegan Martinez hit a turn around jumper, Southern Maine used a 12-3 run over the next three minutes of action to create separation and take a 31-18 lead with 5:28 to go in the half.  Making 2-of-3 field goals during the run, the Huskies were a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line. 
  • After Whelan's layup gave the Huskies their 31-18 lead, the Panthers responded with a 7-2 spurt to trail by eight, 33-25. Bosworth led the way for PSU with five points. However, Whelan and Lash combined for the final two buckets of the opening stanza as the Huskies led 37-25 at the break.  Whelan had 15 first-half points.
  • Both teams went back-and-forth in the first five minutes of the second half, and a three from freshman Carter Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) put USM in front 48-33 with 14:23 on the clock, and started a 7-0 run to grew the Huskies' lead to 52-33 with 11:56 showing.
  • The Huskies remained comfortably in front and led by 16, 66-50 on an and-one play from freshman Cohen Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) with under five to play.
  • The Panthers however put in a final surge and outscored Southern Maine 11-2 over the next 1:40 of action to trail by seven, 68-61, with 3:12 remaining.  The Panthers' Reyes scored six points in the rally, while Eli Pockette hit a three for the seven-point margin.
  • Following Pockette's three, USM's Lash hit one of two free throws to make it an eight point game on the Huskies' next possession, but Bosworth went 2-for-2 for PSU and Hulland hit an and-one making it a two-possession game, 71-66 with 1:11 left in regulation.
  • Southern Maine was able to fight off the Panthers as Hartel connected on a layup on the next possession and hit one of two free throws to extend USM's lead to a comfortable 74-66 with 30 seconds to go. Bosworth hit one more three for PSU, but Whelan remained perfect at the like with his 12 and 13 free throws of the game and Dowling was one-for-two for the 77-69 final.
Inside The Statistics:
  • Southern Maine shot 46.3 percent (19-for-41) from the field in the game and went 35-for-45 (77.8 percent) from the free throw line.  PSU shot 32.9 percent (25-for-76) from the floor and was 12-for-16 from the free throw line. Three of the Panthers' 10 players that saw action were called for four fouls, while four had three fouls.
  • Southern Maine led in rebounding 44-32. Sophomore Noah Dowling (North Narrabeen, Australia) had 10 rebounds, while Whelan and sophomore Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) each had nine.
 
Up Next:
The Huskies are on the road Saturday, January 24 (3:00 pm) at WestConn. Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, January 28 (7:00 pm) against UMass Boston.  The Huskies will then host Keene State College on Saturday, January 31 (3:00 pm) in the second annual NAMI Maine/Wade Millett Memorial Foundation Games.
           
 
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