Boggs, who scored a career-high 16 points in his previous outing, hit 6-of-10 from the field to finish with a game-high 18 points, while Dunham drained 6-of-8 shots to end up with 16 points. Both Boggs and Dunham connected on 4-of-5 from three-point range. Also contributing to the Panther offense were junior Mike Walcek (Dover, N.H.) with 12 points, and senior Kevin Boutilier (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Phil Bourassa (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) with 10 points apiece.
Sophomore Andy Frost (Brewer, Maine) led the visitors with 15 points, and senior Bill Hardwick (Boothbay, Maine) chipped in with 12 points.
It was a one-point game with seven minutes to go in the first half, but PSU went on a 17-4 burst to take a 33-21 lead. USM hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to make it 33-23 at the break. The Panthers maintained a double-digit lead most of the second half, leading by 18 at the midway point (60-42) before coasting home the rest of the way.
The hosts shot 52.8 percent from the field and 60 percent from beyond the three-point stripe (12-of-20). The Panther defense held USM to a 39.2 shooting percentage while forcing 23 Husky turnovers. The visitors did enjoy a 34-28 advantage on the boards.
PSU, which improved to 11-4 overall and 4-2 in the LEC, is home against on Saturday with a rematch against Western Connecticut (3:00 p.m.) WestConn defeated PSU in last year’s LEC title game, and the Panthers upended the Colonials in a regular season contest last month in Danbury, Conn. USM, 9-7 overall and 3-3 in league play, returns home to face UMass Dartmouth in an LEC game on Saturday (3:00 p.m.)
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