NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.    – Senior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) scored a game-high 30 points to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies earned an 89-80 win over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in a Little East Conference men's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Tripp Athletic Center. 

Whelan was 10-for-19 from the field for the game-high total, adding six rebounds and three assists. Sphomore Noah Dowling (North Narabeen, Australia) knocked down four threes for 18 points, seven rebounds and two steals, while senior Stephen Gabriel III (Brockton, Mass./Bridgton Academy) added 10 points.  Freshman Carter Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) reached double-digits in scoring for the 17^th time this season, netting 16 points off of the bench on 4-for-6 shooting, including a pair of triples.

Danny Reyes led the Corsairs with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists.  Ryan Flauto was right behind Reyes with 22 points, securing a double-double with 12 rebounds.  Nic Boyd was the only other Corsair in double-figures with 14 points, including a 4-for-8 mark from three.

The Records:
Southern Maine (15-9, 10-5 Little East)
UMass Dartmouth (12-11, 6-8 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 90th meeting between the Corsairs and Huskies. UMass Dartmouth holds a 73-17 lead in the all-time series. The Huskies and Corsairs split the 2024-2025 series with Southern Maine winning at home 89-73. Southern Maine has won three of its last four meetings with UMD and had a 95-89 win over the Corsairs earlier this season at Hill Gym for the season sweep.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Scoring the first six points of the game, Southern Maine started strong with buckets from freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) and sophomore Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) and two free throws from Whelan.  The Huskies led as many as nine early, 11-2, on a layup from Lash at the 16:42 mark, but UMD stormed back with an 11-1 run over the next 2:32 of action to lead 13-12 on a Reyes pull-up jumper and the game settled into a back-and-forth contest.
• With both teams exchanging baskets, the teams exchanged leads three times each and saw seven tie scores before the halftime break. A driving layup from Reyes followed by a bucket from Flauto had the Corsairs ahead 38-35 with 2:53 to play before USM retook the lead with a four unanswered points on a driving layup from Whelan and two free throws from Gabriel III, 39-38 with 1:42 to go.  Reyes responed with a layup on the next Corsair possession for a slim 40-39 lead with under 90 seconds to play.  Both teams had empty possessions on their next plays before Whelan came up with a steal and found Lash for a bucket and a 41-40 Husky lead with 54 seconds to go.  Both teams had looks at the basket in the final moments but the score remained unchanged.
• Dowling hit a three on the first play of the second half to push USM's lead to 44-40 and the game continued its back-and-forth play.  The lead continued to exchange hands in the opening minutes of the second half and two free throws from UMD's Reyes had the game knotted up at 56 with 13:24 to play.  The Huskies created some separation with an 8-2 push over the next minute of action to lead 64-58 with 12:00 on the clock on a Galley three.
•  The Corsairs stayed within striking distance of the Huskies and trailed 73-66 (8:15) on a floating jumper from Reyes, but Southern Maine scored four straight on two free throws from Whelan and a jumper from Dowling to go up by 11, 77-66.     
• Whelan kept the Huskies up double-digits, 81-71, with 4:12 left with a layup before the Corsairs made a push with a 7-0 spurt making it a one-possession game 81-78 with 2:44 to go on a layup from Camden Dunbury. Both teams were scoreless over the next 50 seconds before Lash hit two free throws for USM extending the lead to 83-78 with 1:52 to play.
• After Sterling snagged an offensive board for the Huskies, Whelan connected on a layup making it a seven-point margin, 85-78. Galley went 4-for-4 from the line in the closing minutes for the 89-80 final.

 
Inside The Statistics:

• Southern Maine shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the field and was 39.1 percent (9-for-23) from three-point range.  The Huskies shot 50.0 percent (14-for-28) in the second half and 45.5 percent from three (5-for-11).  UMass Darmtouth shot 44.9 percent (31-for-69) for the game and just 4-for-20 from three, including 1-for-9 in the second half.
• Both teams took care of the ball well. Southern Maine made 13 turnovers in the game, and UMass Dartmouth had 12. 
• Southern Maine's 10 wins in Little East Conference action are the most since the 2022-2023 season when USM finished 10-6 in the conference and 16-10 overall.  

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns home to Hill Gym on Saturday, February 21 (3:00 pm) against VTSU-Castleton in conference action for its regular season finale.  The Huskies will honor their senior student-athletes prior to the game.
           
 
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