Junior forward Drew Coppenrath (Barnet, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) posted a double-double with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a73-60 Little East Conference win over the UMass Boston Beacons Tuesday evening at Warren G. Hill Gymnasium on USM’s Gorham campus.
With the win the Huskies improve to 6-11 overall and 2-6 in the Little East. The loss drops the Beacons even with USM at 6-11 overall and 2-6 in conference action.
Coppenrath was 9-of-16 from the field and knocked down three three-pointers as the Huskies placed three players in double-figures. Senior guard Foster Oakley (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) added a career-high 19 points with an impressive 5-for-8 mark from the three-point line to go along with four rebounds and three assists, while junior guard Josh Daniels (Everett, Wash./Maine Central Institute) played a solid all-around game for Southern Maine with 15 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
UMass Boston senior forward Tony Barros (Dorchester, Mass./Saint Sebastians) netted a team-high 21 points and sophomore center Rodney Bennett (Mattapan, Mass./Newton North) finished as the only other Beacon in double-figures with 10 points. Barros added six rebounds, two assists and a game-high five steals.
Southern Maine raced out to a 17-point lead midway through the first half as it started the game on fire from the field, draining 10 of its first 16 field goals, including a remarkable 6-for-7 from three-point range to lead 27-10 with 9:08 on the clock.
UMass Boston clawed its way back to within three points, 29-26, over the next six minutes as the Beacons outscored the Huskies 16-2. Barros was unstoppable in the Beacons run, scoring 11 of his 21 points including a pair of long-range threes. USM, however, was able to take a seven-point advantage into the break as Coppenrath drained to of his three three-pointers in the final two minutes of action.
The Huskies were able to hold off the Beacons in the second half, never leading by less than seven points. UMass Boston trailed USM 63-56 with 5:32 to play following an offensive rebound and put back from Bennett, but Southern Maine outscored the Beacons 10-4 down the stretch to earn the 73-60 victory.
Southern Maine finished the game shooting an impressive 45.9 percent from the field (28-for-61), draining a season-high 11 three-pointers for a 47.8 percent mark from long range. UMass Boston shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field and 30 percent (6-for-20) from three-point range. Led by Barros’ six rebounds UMass Boston edged Southern Maine on the board 39-34.
USM returns to action on Saturday (January 27) at Eastern Connecticut State University for a 3 p.m. LEC contest. UMass Boston on the same date and time at Western Connecticut State University.