FARMINGTON, Maine -- Brandon Tomah (Princeton, Maine) scored 18 of his game-high 21 points in the opening half as the University of Southern Maine overcame an early double-digit deficit to dispatch the University of Maine at Farmington 77-61 in non-conference men's basketball action tonight at Dearborn Gymnasium.

The Beavers (2-4) travel to New England College Friday for a North Atlantic Conference game at 5:30 p.m. (women to follow), while the Huskies improved to 6-2 and are scheduled to visit Western Connecticut in Little East Conference action Saturday at 3 p.m.

The Huskies trailed by 12 points before closing out the opening half with a 23-5 run over the final 5:19 to take a 41-35 lead into intermission. UMF knocked a 13-point USM lead down to 56-49 with 13:33 left in regulation, but the Huskies scored the next 12 points to pull away fro the victory.

Alex Kee (Bath, Maine) and Chris Pagentine (Lexington, N.C.) each added 13 points for the Huskies, while Jeremy Jackson (Laplace, La.) chipped in 12 points. USM connected on 48.3 percent (28-58) from the field, includng 47.4 (9-19) from 3-point range. UMF made 39.7 percent (23-58).

Ben Johnson (Manchester, Maine) notched a double-double with 15 points and game-high 10 rebounds for UMF with Pet Sumner (Cramerton, N.C.) also tallying 15 points.

Sumner scored eight points in the first nine minutes as the Beavers mounted a 22-12 lead and expanded their advantage to 30-18 on a Johnson layup with 5:36 left in the first half. Tomah hit a 3-pointer in the Huskies' next possession and made a steal, which led to a pair of free throws, to cut the lead to 30-23 with five minutes until the break.

Kee and Tomah knocked down a three each to trim the deficit to 30-29 46 seconds later. After a Johnson layup broke up the 11-0 run, Tomah followed a pair of Conor Sullivan (Scarborough, Maine) free throws with another 3-pointer to give USM its first lead since 2-0 with 3:01 until intermission. Tomah followed with another trey to make it 37-32 and the Huskies went to the locker room with a 41-35 lead.

After a Joe McCloskey (Howland, Maine) jumper to open the second half, Pagentine scored nine points to lead a 12-3 run for USM to take a 53-40 lead. UMF got the lead down to 56-49, but Kee drained a three and Jackson converted a three-point play to kick off the 12-0 stretch for a 68-49 lead with 8:55 to play. Tomah's lone basket of the second half, his fifth 3-pointer, gave the visitors a 75-55 command with 4:25 remaining as the Huskies rolled to the 77-61 victory.

Ben Johnson	Pet Sumner	Joe McCloskey	Dan Kane	Nate Carson