The win snaps a five-game losing skid for the Huskies who improve to 5-10 overall and 1-5 in the Little East. The Panthers dip below .500 with the loss at 8-9 overall and 1-5 in the LEC.
Daniels was 9-of-16 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and added four assists, three steals and three rebounds to lead the Huskies to the win. Junior forward Drew Coppenrath (Barnet, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) matched his career-high with 15 points, including a 3-for-4 mark from three point range. Junior forward Nick Gooding (Concord, Calif./Mount Diablo) and sophomore guard Charlie O’Neill (Seymour, Conn./Wilbraham & Monson) added 12 and 10 points respectively. Gooding paced the Huskies on the boards grabbing a team-high nine rebounds.
Plymouth State placed four players in double-digits led by a 20-point, six-rebound effort from senior forward Devin Ruocco (Dover, N.H./Dover). Sophomore guard Ben Huntington (Hampstead, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) tossed in 12 points and dished out for assists while senior forward Mike Walcek (Dover, N.H./Dover) and freshman guard Jason O’Keefe (Everett, Mass./Everett) chipped in with 10 points each.
With his team trailing by four, 44-40, with 16:36 remaining in the contest following a three-pointer from Plymouth State’s Ruocco, Daniels ignited his team to the victory keying a decisive 11-0 run to put the Huskies ahead for good.
Daniels started the run for USM with a driving lay-up and then converted a traditional three-point play making an acrobatic reverse baseline lay-up on a feed from senior guard Foster Oakley (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) to put the Huskies ahead, 45-44, with 15:42 remaining. Southern Maine increased its margin to four, 48-44, following a three-pointer from O’Neill, before Daniels capped the run with a three-ball of his own for a 51-44 lead with 13:30 on the clock.
Plymouth State would get no closer than five points the rest of the way, as the Huskies scored key baskets down the stretch for the win.
Southern Maine shot a solid 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field and was an outstanding 19-for-21 (90.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Huskies were also hot from long range making 10 of 17 tries from three-point range for a blistering 58. 8 percent clip. Southern Maine also committed a season-low eight turnovers in the win.
Plymouth State made 50 percent of its shots for the game, connecting on 27-of-54 from the field and were 8-for-20 from three-point range (40 percent).
Southern Maine returns to action on the road at UMass Dartmouth for a 3 p.m. Little East Conference game on Saturday (January 20). Plymouth State plays at Western Connecticut State University on the same date at 3 p.m. in an LEC contest.