BIDDEFORD, Maine - Sophomore
Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) scored a career-high 22 points to lead five players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the University of New England Nor'easters 87-64 in a non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday night on Coach Beaudry's Court at the Harold Alfond Forum.
Sophomore
Cohen Galley (Owl's Head, Maine/Oceanside) and junior
Noah Dowling (North Narabeen, Australia) had 14 and 12 points respectively, while freshman
Seann Katubi (Rutland, Mass./New York Military Academy) had his second consecutive double-digit scoring effort in as many games with 11 points. Sophomore
Carter Galley (Owl's Head, Maine/Oceanside) rounded out the double-digit efforts with 10 points.
The Records:
Southern Maine (2-0)
University of New England (0-2)
Today's game marked the 65
th meeting between the University of Southern Maine and the University of New England Nor'easters. Southern Maine leads the overall series 50-15, and have won the last eight consecutively. UNE last defeated the Huskies 81-73 on November 12, 2019 in Biddeford.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- UNE scored the first basket of the game to lead 2-0 before the Huskies used a 16-3 run over the next 4:46 of action to take control of the game and lead 16-5 with 14:36 remaining in the half. The Huskies were 6-for-10 from the field in the surge led by eight points from Lash.
- The Nor'easters trimmed the lead to 16-9 on back-to-back scores from Kha Cao Ra James, but the Huskies responded with 13 unanswered points to lead 29-9 with just under 10 to go in the first. USM was 5-for-8 from the field during the run led by five points from Dowling and five from Katubi.
- UNE stemmed the run with a three from Justin Allen, but Southern Maine again created distance with a 7-0 run tripling up the Nor'easters 36-12 punctuated by a steal from Cohen Galley and an assist to Carter Galley for the layup with 5:25 on the clock. Both teams went back-and-forth in the final five of the half and Katubi made a pair of free throws for the Huskies' final points of the frame and Jaelen Jackson score the last basket of the half for UNE as Southern Maine led 44-23 at the break.
- UNE and USM exchanged baskets to start the second and two free throws by Gabe Galarraga pulled the Nor'easters to within 16, 50-34, with 15:40 left in the game before a dunk from junior Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) on the next play ignited a 17-8 run for USM over the next five minutes for a 67-42 lead with 10:47 remaining. The Huskies were a red-hot 7-for-8 from the field during the run, including a 3-for-4 effort from three, including a three from Sterling to bookend the spurt.
- From there, the Nor'easters struggled to get to within 20 of Southern Maine. Trailing 78-53 after a pair of free throws from USM sophomore Mckhel Joyner (Harlem, NY) at 5:40 on the clock, the Nor'easters scored back-to-back threes and a layup for a eight-point swing to trail by 17, 78-61, with 3:12 to play, but Southern Maine shut the door on the game responding with a 9-0 run started by a three from Cohen Galley and ended with a layup from Marko Joksovic for an 87-61 lead with 1:17 remaining. UNE's Tylor Bonaventura scored the last basket of the game for the 87-64 final.
Inside The Statistics:
- Southern Maine shot 47.9 percent (34-for-71) from the field, and 37.8 percent (14-for-37) from three-point range in the game. UNE shot 41.0 percent (25-for-61).
Up Next:
Southern Maine hosts UMaine Presque Isle on Saturday, November 14 (3:00 pm). The Huskies head to Colby College on Monday (7:45 pm), and then are back home on Wednesday (7:30 pm) against Emmanuel.
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