Senior guard Mike Parker (Windsor, Conn.) scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the second half, including a key set of free throws in the final seconds of the game, to lead the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 73-72 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference game Saturday in Willimantic.
With the win Eastern improves to 10-7 overall and inches above .500 in the LEC to stand at 5-4. The loss drops Southern Maine to 6-12 overall and 2-7 in conference action.
Parker connected on seven of his 11 field goal attempts in the second half to help the Warriors erase a narrow 36-35 halftime deficit. Ahead by just two points, 71-69, Parker swished a pair of free throw attempts with just four seconds remaining to give the Warriors an insurmountable four-point advantage, 73-69. USM junior guard Josh Daniels (Everett, Wash./Maine Central Institute) launched a last second three-pointer at the buzzer that fell for the 73-72 final.
Parker was one of two Eastern Connecticut players to crest the 20-point mark as freshman guard Edwin Ortiz (Hartford, Conn.) finished the game with 21 points. Ortiz netted 17 of his 21 points in the first half with an outstanding 7-for-9 mark from the field.
Daniels led all scorers netting 25 points for the Huskies, connecting on 7-of-10 field goals and sinking 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. Daniels added three assists and two steals for Southern Maine.
Freshman guard John Sewall (Bath, Maine/Cheverus) added 12 points and four assists and junior forward Nick Gooding (Concord, Calif./Mount Diablo) narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field for the game with Eastern Connecticut holding a slight advantage over USM. The Warriors finished the game shooting 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from the field, while the Huskies converted 23 of their 46 field goals attempts (50.0 percent).
Southern Maine returns to action on Tuesday (January 30) at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts non-conference opponent St. Joseph’s College (Maine). Eastern Connecticut hosts non-conference foe Green Mountain College on the same date at 6 p.m.