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MBB Huddle vs Eastern
Eleanor Folsom, Athletic Communications Student Employee
93
Winner Eastern Conn. St. EASTERN 17-9
83
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 16-10
Winner
Eastern Conn. St. EASTERN
17-9
93
Final
83
Southern Me. SOUTHERN
16-10
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Eastern Conn. St. EASTERN 34 59 93
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 31 52 83

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

No. 5 Eastern Connecticut Defeats No. 4 Southern Maine 93-83 in LEC Quarterfinals


GORHAM, Maine – Drew Soltis scored a game-high 22 points and snagged a team-high nine rebounds to lead the fifth-seed Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 93-83 win over the fourth-seed University of Southern Maine Huskies in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Little East Conference Men's Basketball Championship Tournament Wednesday night at Hill Gymnasium.
Eastern Connecticut advances to the semifinal round and will face top-seed WestConn on Friday at 6 pm in Danbury, Conn.

Soltis was 8-for-13 from the field and perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to lead the Warriors' five players in double-figures.  Javontae Jones had 17 points off of the bench, while Dominick Doa and Ray Carter each had 12 points and five rebounds.  Julian Sanchez added 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots off of the bench.

Senior Thomas Whelan (Bronx, NY/Fordham Prep) had 18 points to finish as USM's leading scorer.  Sophomore Evans Sterling (New Sharon, Maine/Mt. Blue) had 17 points and four rebounds on 7-for-10 shooting.  Freshman Gabe Lash (Waldoboro, Maine/Medomak Valley) notched a double-double with 15 points ,11 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocked shots.  Sophomore Noah Dowling (North Narabeen, Australia) had 11 points and eight rebounds.

The Records:
No. 5 Eastern Connecticut (17-9)
No. 4 Southern Maine (16-10)
 
Today's game marked the 94th meeting between the University of Southern Maine and the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors. ECSU leads the overall series 58-36.  The Huskies and Warriors split the regular-season series with each team winning at home. Southern Maine entered the game having won five of the last six over ECSU. USM last faced the Warriors in a playoff game in the 2014-2015 season. Southern Maine last won a playoff quarterfinal game on February 26, 2008 – the Huskies' opponent was Eastern Connecticut, 79-69.
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
  • USM scored the first points of the game on a jumper in the paint from Whelan and led 10-9 in a low-scoring affair on a jumper from Sterling at the 14:03 mark. However, Eastern's Doa countered with a jumper of his own starting a 11-2 Warrior run that pushed Eastern Connecticut into the lead 20-12 with 10:53 to go.  Five different players scored for the Warriors in the run capped by a three from Carter.
  • Another three from Carter had ECSU ahead 25-17 with 8:04 until halftime before USM rallied to cut its deficit to two possessions, 29-25, with 3:36 on the clock.  Freshmen Cohen and Carter Galley (Owls Head, Maine/Oceanside) hit back to back threes in USM's 8-4 run to bring their team back.
  • The Warriors countered with a 5-2 spurt to lead 34-27 with 1:08 on the clock, but a three from Dowling and one of two free throws from Cater Galley with a second remaining made it a 34-31 game at the break. 
  • USM scored the first four points of the second half on back-to-back buckets from Sterling and senior Stephen Gabriel III (Brockton, Mass.) to lead 35-34 early, but Doa responded with a three and both teams traded buckets over the next several possessions.  Soltis' layup at 16:28 gave ECSU a 43-40 lead and started another 11-2 Warrior run to extend their margin to 52-44 with 13:36 to play.  Two free throws from Whelan made it a six-point game, but ECSU's Soltis scored five straight, including and and-one play to put his team up double-digits 57-46 with 11:57 showing.
  • Facing an 11-point hole, USM rallied off of a Sterling three to score nine straight highlighted by a steal and a dunk from Lash as the 9:14 mark for a 57-55 game.  However, ECSU responded with a 16-6 run over the next five minutes led by two threes from Pedro Perry to lead 73-61 with just under five minutes remaining.
  • Southern Maine cut the deficit to nine four times in the final minutes but was unable to get closer for the 93-83 final.
 
Inside The Statistics:
  • Southern Maine shot 37.7 percent (26-for-69) from the field, and 42.1 percent (8-for-19) from three in the game.  The Huskies shot 28.1 percent in the first half and improved to 45.9 percent in the second.  Eastern Connecticut shot 45.1 percent (32-for-71) for the game.
  • The Warriors led USM in rebounds, 48-39, and had 14 offensive boards. ECSU scored 20 second-chance points, compared to just eight for Southern Maine.
  • Eastern's bench outscored USM's bench 37-16.
 
Up Next:
Southern Maine concludes its 2025-2026 season with a record of 16-10 overall and 11-5 in the Little East Conference. The Huskies' 11 conference wins are the most in program history.  The Huskies' 16 wins are the most since the 2022-2023 season when USM finished 16-10.
           
 
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