Freshman guard Tyshawn Gillespie (Hartford, Conn./Bassick) scored a team-high 29 points, including 16 points in the final eight minutes of the game, to lead the Western Connecticut State University Colonials to a 87-82 come-from-behind win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference game Saturday at Hill Gymnasium.
With the win, Western Connecticut improves its overall record to 13-8 and moves to 7-3 in the Little East. Southern Maine drops its third consecutive game to dip to 6-14 overall and 2-8 in the LEC.
Trailing by 20 points, 75-55, with eight minutes remaining in the contest the Colonials, led by Gillespie, outscored the Huskies 31-5 down the stretch to earn the win. After a pair of free throws from USM junior guard Josh Daniels (Everett, Wash./Maine Central Institute), Western Connecticut rolled off 15 unanswered points to pull within five of the Huskies 75-70 with 4:30 remaining. Junior forward Jamie Procino (Yorktown Heights, N.Y./Yorktown) scored seven of his 20 points in the 15-point spurt for the Colonials, while Gillespie added six.
Southern Maine junior forward Drew Coppenrath (Barnet, Vt./St. Johnsbury Academy) broke up the scoreless spell with a pair of free throws to give his team a 77-70 cushion with 3:52 to play, but the Huskies were able to score just three more points the rest of the game on a field goal and a free throw.
Gillespie finished the game with a 9-for-14 mark from the floor and was an outstanding 5-for-6 from three-point range. Procino added 20 points and a team-high seven rebounds on a sparkling 8-for-9 effort, while sophomore guard Dashon Jennings (Bridgeport, Conn./Bassick) rounded out the Colonials in double-figures with 13 points.
Daniels led the Huskies with a career-high 32 points, including a 5-for-6 mark from three-point range as four USM players hit double digits in scoring. Senior guard Foster Oakley (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) added 14 points, five rebounds and six assists and Coppenrath tossed in 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard John Sewall (Bath, Maine/Cheverus) chipped in with 11 points.
Both teams shot well from the field. Western Connecticut finished with an outstanding 60 percent mark on 30-for-50 shooting, including a 72 percent effort in the second half making 18 of its 25 field goal attempts. USM shot 53.4 percent (31-for-58) for the game.
Southern Maine returns to action on the road at Plymouth State University on Tuesday (February 6) for a 7:30 p.m. Little East Conference game. Western Connecticut hosts LEC opponent Rhode Island College on the same date at 7:30 p.m. in its next contest.