WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Three Eastern Connecticut State University players combined for 13-of-13 from the floor in the first half as the Warriors rolled up a 20-point halftime lead on the way to a 94-66 Little East Conference victory over the University of Southern Maine Saturday afternoon at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
The victory allowed Eastern (9-12, 4-8 LEC) to avoid its first four-game conference losing streak in 12 years and to move to within a game of Keene State College for the sixth and final LEC tournament playoff spot. Eastern edged Keene, 68-65, at Keene, NH Jan. 9 and hosts the Owls in the third of four remaining LEC regular-season games Feb. 19.
Southern Maine (9-12, 4-9 LEC) lost an opportunity to move a half-game ahead of Eastern in the standings and is now eighth in the nine-team conference, 2 ½ games behind sixth-place Keene. The Huskies have three LEC games remaining.
After losing in overtime at Southern Maine three weeks ago without its top rebounder and third-leading scorer, Eastern blasted to a quick 12-point lead six minutes into action Saturday by sinking six of its first seven shots, and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way. The Warriors never trailed in the game and pushed their lead to as many as 25 in the final minutes of the first half.
In the first half, seniors Jake McCarthy (Berlin), Jake Collagan (Wethersfield) and sophomore Thomas Close (East Hampton) combined for 13-of-13 shooting from the floor, including 4-of-4 accuracy from distance.
Close had 13 first-half points on the way to a career-high 16 (and also added six assists in the game), while Collagan tossed in 12 in the first half and finished with a game-tying 24 points and a career-tying eight assists. In his first career start, McCarthy submitted nine of his 11 game points in the first half and finished the game with six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Junior guard Cory Muckle (Westbrook) scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half to move to within 16 of 1,000 points in a career and also had his first double-double with a career-high ten rebounds. Sophomore forward Seth Thomas (Norwich) led all players with 15 rebounds – helping the Warriors to a +13 advantage in that category – and also added nine points and three assists.
In the game, the Warriors cashed in a season-high 16 of 29 three-point field goal tries – just three makes shy of the game record – setting a season-high with a 55.2 percentage showing from long range.
Sophomore guard Jacobe Thomas – the second-leading score in the conference who amassed 31 against Eastern earlier this year – had 24 points for the Huskies and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Thomas and junior guard Derek Haney combined for 40 of their team's point total. Haney had 16 points for USM, which shot just 33.8 percent from the floor, including 6-of-25 (24 percent) from distance.
After scoring 24 points with six rebounds, five assists and four blocks against Eastern in the first meeting, senior guard Jaire Roberts was limited to seven points, five rebounds, one assist and a blocked shot in 26 minutes before fouling out with 3:59 remaining and his team trailing by 24 points. Robert was saddled with three first-half fouls and was assessed his fourth and left the game (later returning) seven minutes into the second half and USM down by 19 points.
Eastern visits Rhode Island College Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Anchormen look for the season sweep after posting a 72-69 win over Eastern Jan. 15 at Geissler Gymnasium.