DANBURY, Conn   -  Marcel Henry had 23 points and seven rebounds to lead three players in double-figures as the WestConn Wolves rallied to defeat the University of Southern Maine Huskies 78-75 in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.
 
Henry was 10-for-16 from the field in the game for his game-high total.  Tayejon Lynch had 15 points, eight rebounds, six assist and five steals for the Wolves, while Jaeden Bull added 132 points on 6-of-8 shooting. 
 
Senior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) led USM with 22 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. Freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomack Valley) had 16 points, five rebounds and three steals on 4-for-78 shooting, and sophomore Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (11-7, 6-3 Little East)
WestConn (13-5, 6-3 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 87th meeting between the WestConn Wolves and the University of Southern Maine.  WestConn leads the overall series 48-20.  Prior to USM's 76-72 win over the Wolves earlier this season in Gorham, WestConn had won the last four consecutively. The two teams have split the 2025-2026 season series.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Trailing the Wolves 34-33 with 2:26 remaining in the first half after a layup from WestConn's Jahlyl Morgan, the Huskies used an 8-1 run in the final minutes to take a 41-35 lead at the halftime break.  Whelan scored four points in the run, while Sterling added the run-completing layup.  The Huskies shot 50.0 percent from the field in the first half (12-for-24) and knocked down five three-pointers.  Lash led the Huskies with 13 first-half points.
• Tayejon Lynch hit a three to start the second half for WestConn, cutting the deficit to 41-38, and both teams went back and forth over the next several possessions with Whelan hitting a three and Noah Dowling making a layup keeping the Huskies in front.  
• WestConn's Jaeden Bull went back-to-back with a three and a floating jumper to pull the Wolves to within one, 46-45, with 14:49 to play.  Whelan responded with a jumper extending USM's lead to 48-45 on the next possession but Bull scored seven unanswered consecutively as part of 9-0 run as Nick Boyce put the Wolves ahead 54-49 with 11:49 to go.
• Both teams went back and forth and the Huskies trailed WestConn 59-56 on a layup from Lash at the 9:20 mark before the Wolves pushed over the next 3:26 of action to increase their lead to 10, 68-58, on Lynch's three at the 5:27 mark. 
• Whelan countered for USM with a three on the Huskies' next possession igniting a 7-0 run over the next 1:54 to pull his team to within a possession 68-65 with 3:33 to go. 
• The Huskies stayed within striking distance and trailed by four, 73-69, after two free throws from senior Stephen Gabriel III at the 1:09 mark, but WestConn again made it a multiple possession game with a 5-1 run to lead 78-70 with 25 seconds to play.  The Huskies got a layup from Sterling and a three from freshman Carter Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) in the closing moments to make it a 78-75 game with seconds to go, but were unable to come up with the equalizer as WestConn held for the win.

 
 
Inside The Statistics:

• Southern Maine finished the game shooting 40.4 percent (21-for-52) from the field and 83.3 percent from the free throw line (25-for-30).  WestConn shot 30-for-65 (46.2 percent).
• WestConn had a 42-34 lead in rebounds and a 15-9 lead in offensive boards. The Wolves scored 11 second chance points. 
• USM committed 26 turnovers and the Wolves made 20.  WestConn scored 28 points off of turnovers while the Huskies scored 16.

 
Up Next:
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.
           
 
-cac-