GORHAM, Maine   –  Senior guard Corteze Isaac (Germantown, Md./Northwest) of the University of sank a deep jumper with 10 seconds remaining to deliver an 83-82 win for the University of Southern Maine Huskies over the Husson University Eagles in a non-conference men's basketball game Wednesday night at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.

            With the win, the Huskies improve to 8-4 overall.  The loss is the second straight for the Eagles who fall to 7-3 overall.  It is the first time since the 2007-2008 season that the Huskies have defeated the Eagles, when USM came away with a 73-65 road win on January 8.

            Southern Maine senior forward Otis Smith (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Ocoee) led the Huskies with a career-high 26 points on an outstanding 10-for-13 shooting performance.  Smith added seven rebounds and three assists for the Huskies.  Isaac finished with 20 points, five rebounds and four assists, while junior forward Sean Bergeron (Kennebunk, Maine) chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists. 

            Senior guard Jay Uhrin (Winterport, Maine/Lincoln Academy) led all scorers with 27 points on a 9-for-18 mark from the field.  Senior forward Josh Jones (Jefferson, Maine/Erskine Academy) added 23 points and a team-high eight rebounds and sophomore center Marc Zaharchuk (Richmond, Maine) tossed in 12 points.

            Taking a narrow 47-45 lead into the halftime break after an acrobatic buzzer-beating lay-up from Smith, the Huskies came out on fire in the opening five minutes of the second half with a 13-2 run, grabbing a 12-point, 60-48, lead with 15:02 on the clock.  Smith scored eight of the Huskies 13 points in the run, which was capped by a three-pointer from freshman forward Kenny Sullivan (Laguna Beach, Calif.). 

            Southern Maine held a double-digit advantage, 62-52, with 12:57 to play, before Husson's Uhriin scored six straight points to pull the Eagles to within five, 62-57, with 11:47 to play.  Both teams traded small three-to-four point runs over the next eight minutes, before a three-pointer from Husson's junior guard Brad Libby (Brewer, Maine) pulled the Eagles to within two, 79-77, with 3:51 on the clock.

            One of two free throws from Uhrin and a lay-up from Jones, combined with two USM turnovers and a missed field goal attempt by the Huskies, over the next four plays gave the Eagles a narrow 80-79 lead with 2:32 remaining – the first Eagle lead since early in the first half. 

            Bergeron regained the USM lead, 81-80 (1:32) with a driving lay-up, before Husson freshman guard Luis Medina (Hartford, Conn./Lee Academy Prep) returned the favor with his own lay-up for an 82-81 lead with 1:09 to play.  Turnovers on both sides gave USM the ball with 10 seconds remaining, before Isaac drilled the eventual game-winner as the Huskies were able to make a defensive stand in the final seconds of play.

Husson hosts Colby on Thursday (7:00 p.m.).