The win is the second straight for the Huskies who improve 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the LEC, while the loss drops Eastern Connecticut to 3-5 and 0-2 in conference action.
Sophomore guard Josh Daniels (Everett, Wash./Maine Central Institute) earned team-high scoring honors for the Huskies netting 18 points and grabbing eight rebounds to lead three Southern Maine players in double-figures. Sophomore guard Walter Phillips (Portland, Maine/Deering) added 14 points, and four rebounds while senior forward Bill Hardwick (Boothbay, Maine/Boothbay Region) scored 11 points and snagged nine rebounds. Oakley chipped in with nine points off of the bench for the Huskies, knocking down 3-of-6 attempts from three-point range.
Eastern Connecticut junior guard Johnathan Simmons (Mystic, Conn.) led all scorers with 24 points, knocking down eight of 18 from the floor, including four three-pointers. Junior guard Matt Albon (Middlebury, Conn.) and senior guard Michael Stallings (Waterbury, Conn.) each scored 11 points for the Warriors while junior forward Leon Martin (Woodbury, Conn.) chipped with a double-double on 10 points and10 rebounds.
In a closely contested game the Huskies held a narrow one-point lead at the break, 31-30, despite shooting a sub-par 30.3 percent from the field (10-for-33) to open the game. Eastern Connecticut despite shooting a solid 42.3 percent (11-for-26) found themselves trailing thanks in part to the Huskies four first-half three-pointers.
In the second half, Southern Maine built up leads of eight and seven points, only to find Eastern Connecticut had clawed its way back to tie the game. The Huskies went ahead 50-43 on a driving lay-up from Daniels with 4:10 to go in regulation, but the Warriors slashed the lead to just a point, 54-53, with 58 seconds to play following a 10-4 run. Eastern Connecticut’s Simmons netted seven of his game-high 24 points in the run on a three, a driving lay-up and back-to-back free throws.
The Huskies again pulled ahead of the Warriors, this time by four points, when Phillips drained three of four free throws, to give Southern Maine a 57-53 lead with 27 seconds to play. However, with just 17 seconds to play, Simmons continued his heroics draining his fourth three-pointer of the game and then sinking the ensuing free throw to knot the score up at 57 points each. Both teams squandered a possession in the final seconds to head into overtime.
In the overtime period, Southern Maine’s Oakley struck first to give USM a three-point cushion with clutch three-pointer from the baseline and the Huskies never relinquished the lead en route to the overtime victory.
Southern Maine returns to action Tuesday (December 13) on the road at the University of New England. Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The Warriors play next in the Christopher Newport University Captains Shootout, January 3-4, 2006 in Newport News Virginia. Game times are yet to be announced.