News Release

GORHAM, Maine — Huskies Cruise to Second Straight, Down UMass Dartmouth 78-59

GORHAM, Maine – Senior guard Jason Levecque (Westbrook, Maine/Westbrook) scored 24 points and senior guard Ryan Garland (Hermon, Maine/Hermon) added a season-high 21 points to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 78-59 Little East Conference win over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs, Saturday in Gorham.

Garland shot an outstanding 7-for-7 from the field, including a 4-for-4 mark from three point range, to lead the Huskies to their second straight win to improve to 6-9 overall and 2-3 in the conference. With the loss, UMass Darmouth drops to 6-7 overall and 1-4 in the Little East.

Southern Maine scored 50 points in the first half as the Huskies were on fire, connecting on 63.3 percent of their shots in the first half on 28-of-53 shooting. Levecque scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the first half and was 7-for-9 from the field to open the game.

Southern Maine did the bulk of its damage in the final seven minutes of the first half, outscoring the Corsairs 20-7 down the stretch. Levecque scored seven points in the pivotal run, while Garland and freshman guard Josh Daniels (Seattle, Wash./Maine Central Institute) added five points a piece.

The Corsairs shot just 37.5 percent from the field in the first half and 35.6 percent from the game, connecting on 21-of-59 attempts. The Corsairs shot themselves in the foot from the free throw line, making just 11-of-21 from the charity stripe, including a dismal 2-for-8 first half outing.

The Corsairs’ freshman guard Amilton Tavares (New Bedford, Mass./New Bedford) led UMass Dartmouth with 15 points on five three-point field goals, while senior forward Chris LaPriore (Grafton, Mass./Holy Name) had 14 points and seven steals.
UMass Dartmouth kept pace with the Huskies in the second half, outscoring Southern Maine 29-28, but were unable to trim the Southern Maine lead to less than 17 points, as Garland scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half.

The Huskies finished the game with a decisive 43-28 edge in rebounding, and were led by a team-high seven rebounds from junior forward Jesse McKinnell (Manomet, Mass./Scituate).
Southern Maine returns to the hardwood Tuesday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m. versus LEC opponent UMass Boston, while UMass Dartmouth will be on the road Tuesday, January 18 against conference foe Rhode Island College.