Leopards Fall to Southern Maine, 68-65

(Release Courtesy of Southern Maine Sports Information)

GORHAM, Maine   – Senior guard Corteze Isaac (Germantown, Md./Northwest) scored 16 of his game-high 27 points in the second half to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies out from under an 18-point deficit and to a 68-65 win over the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards in a non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday evening at Hill Gymnasium.

With its second straight win, Southern Maine improves to 2-0.  The pair of wins marks the first time since the 2007-2008 season, that the Huskies won consecutive games.  Wentworth falls to 0-2 with the loss.

Isaac was 10-for-20 from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to lead all scorers.  The 6-3 guard added eight rebounds and four assists to pace the Huskies.  Senior forward Otis Smith (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Ocoee) added 14 points, including 12 in the second half, and junior forward Sean Bergeron (Kennebunk, Maine) tossed in 11 points and five rebounds.

Junior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) and sophomore guard Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine/Edward Little) each scored 13 points for Wentworth, while senior guard Keenan Burke-Pitts (Auburn, Mass.) added 11 points.  Senior forward Sam Herrick (Duxbury, Mass.) led all rebounders with 12.

Wentworth took a 15-point lead into the halftime break led by eight points from Prue and junior forward Matt Harte (Troy, N.Y./Lansingburgh), as the Leopards shot an outstanding 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the field.  In the opening seconds of the second half, Wentworth matched its largest lead of the game, 18 points, following a three-pointer from Burke-Pitts to pull ahead of Southern Maine 41-23. 

Trailing by 18, Southern Maine began pressing was able to trim its deficit to eight points, 51-43 with 13:15 to play, outscoring the Leopards 20-10 over a six minute stretch.  The Huskies received scoring contributions from six players in the run, led by five points from Smith and four from Isaac.

The Leopards maintained between a six and eight point lead over the next two minutes, before back-to-back layups from Isaac and Bergeron pulled USM with a basket of the Leopards, 54-52, with 9:12 remaining.

Wentworth's Therriault kept the Leopards ahead of the Huskies with a pair of clutch jumpers in the paint.  Isaac kept pace with Therriault and again pulled USM to within two of the Leopards, 58-56, with an offensive rebound and a lay-up with 7:10 to play but Wentworth's Burke-Pitts hit one of two free throws with 6:16 on the clock for a 59-56 lead. 

Burke-Pitts' free throw was the last point Wentworth would score for the next three minutes as the Huskies claimed the lead with a 6-0 run to lead, 62-59, for the first time in the game with 3:52 to play. Senior guard Troy Jellison (Bangor, Maine) started the pivotal run with an offensive put back, while Isaac knocked down back-to-back baskets. 

Therriault pulled the Leopards to within one of the Huskies twice over the next two minutes with an offensive rebound and put-back with 3:15 to play (62-61) and lay-up at 1:01 to play (64-63) but each time, the Huskies' Smith responded first with a lay-up and then with two free throws.

The Huskies sealed the victory at the free throw line, as the Leopards were charged with a technical foul for calling a time out they did not have after making a defensive stop off of an inbounds pass after Wentworth cut the lead to 66-65.  Isaac sank both free throws for the Huskies with one second remaining, putting the hosts up by three and Wentworth's last-second attempt to tie the game missed the mark.

Southern Maine hosts Maine Presque Isle on Sunday (1:00 p.m.).  Wentworth will face Rowan University on Friday (8:00 p.m.) in the Oki Data Americas Tip-Off Tournament.