BOSTON, Mass. – With 0.9 seconds left on the clock senior guard Quadry Allen (White Castle, La.) drained a then game-tying 3-pointer to send Wednesday's contest between men's basketball and the University of Southern Maine into overtime.  Unfortunately, the Huskies would prevail in the extra frame as they handed the Beacons an 87-78 Little East Conference loss in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 78, University of Southern Maine 87 (OT)

UMass Boston (5-11, 1-5 Little East)
University of Southern Maine (9-7, 3-3 Little East)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing 68-71 with 15 seconds left in regulation, the Beacons worked the ball up the floor where they found Allen open in front of the UMass Boston bench.  Just as a Southern Maine player was about to come down on the guard, Allen launched the ball up in the air from way behind the 3-point arc.

The ball would come down and hit nothing but net to tie the game at 71-all.  Southern Maine would nearly steal the victory in regulation as Jose Nouchanthavong threw the ball the length of the court as time expired, where it then hit off the front of the iron.

In the overtime period, the Beacons missed two solid opportunities to take the early lead.  Nouchanthavong would put USM up by two after going 2-for-2 at the charity stripe.  Zach Leal would then make it a two-possession game just over a minute later, as the Beacons were unable to convert on back-to-back possessions. 

UMass finally got on the board in OT when Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) drained a jumper to make it 75-73 with 2:56 left to play.  From that point the Huskies would dominate the final two plus minutes of play, as they outscored the Beacons 12-5, with Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) connecting on a jumper, and Allen scoring the final basket of the night for UMB, a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left.

Allen led all scorers in the contest with 24 points, as he finished 10-for-20 from the field, 4-for-7 from behind the arc.  Freeman grabbed 12 rebounds to go along with 21 points and four blocked shots.  Powers also had a strong night, as the junior forward finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists.

For the Huskies Nouchanthavong dominated for USM scoring 23 points in the conference victory.  Cole Libby added 17 points, and Leal finished with 16.  Off the bench Aaron Torman dropped in 10 to give the Huskies their third conference win of the year.

The opening half was another slow start for the Beacons, as the Huskies jumped out to a commanding lead through the first 10 minutes of play.  The Beacons would close the gap prior to the halftime intermission with Allen making it a two-point game (32-30) before the break.

USM came out firing in the second half, as they scored the first five points to take a 10 point lead (42-32).  The Beacons would quickly erase that deficit thanks to Allan and Freeman.  A lay-up from Powers would give UMB their first lead of the contest with 13:39 left in the affair.

The Beacons would try to maintain their slim lead, but the Huskies would post a quick 9-0 run to regain a solid lead.  However with less than three minutes to play, the Beacons would kick their offense into high gear and before the final horn sounded, they managed to tie the game at 71-71.

BY THE NUMBERS

• On the night the Beacons shot 41.9% from the field, while the Huskies finished shooting 42.0%. 
• From 3-point range UMass was 9-for-20 (45.0%)
• Southern Maine held a 46-41 advantage on the glass
• Southern Maine currently leads the series with UMass Boston 45-23, and have won 9 of their last 11 meetings with the Beacons

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons will travel to Western Connecticut State University on Saturday for a 3 p.m. game.