BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Sophomore guard Conner Sullivan (Scarborough, Maine) led five players with at least eight points a the University of Southern Maine defeated the University of New England, 66-51, in the first men's basketball contest of the season Tuesday evening at the Campus Center.

Classmate Brandon Tomah (Princeton, Maine) was the other USM player in double figures with 11 points, and added five assists, four steals, and four rebounds. Senior Mike Poulin (Readfield, Maine) chipped in with nine points to go with four steals and three blocks.

Seniors Ethan Cushman (Bangor, Maine) and Chris Pagentine (Lexington, N.C.) each contributed eight, while Pagentine also corralled a team-high six boards.

For the Nor'easters, first-year Jordan Ferreira (Nantucket, Mass.) tallied a game-high 15 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and pulled in a contest-best nine rebounds. Senior Jarryd Rossignol (Caribou, Maine) and first-year Alex Alsadi (Edina, Minn.) had 10 points apiece, while Alsadi picked up eight caroms and three steals.

The Huskies never trailed in the game, and after two ties early on, Big Blue got to within a bucket (22-20) on a Ferreira trey with 5:02 left in the opening half. The difference was five (28-23) at the break, as the visitors were shooting at a 48 percent clip (12-for-25) and UNE at just 25.8 percent (8-for-31).

The teams traded baskets to start the second, before USM reeled off 13 consecutive points to built an 18-point (43-25) advantage and seize control. The lead peaked at 26 (55-29) during the final 20 minutes as the Huskies continued to get the ball inside, where they held a 48-12 cushion in the paint.

USM visits Husson University on Friday (7 p.m.), and the Nor'easters head to the Keene State College Tip-Off Tournament the same day to face the host Owls at 7 p.m. UNE follows that up with a date against Colby-Sawyer College on Saturday (5 p.m.).