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BIDDEFORD, Maine -- Trevor Ward went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead layup with 1.2 seconds remaining to give the University of Southern Maine an 85-83 men's basketball result against the University of New England in the mutual season-opener on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 20) at the Harold Alfond Forum. It was the first outside competition for both programs in 364 days.

The Nor'easters had as good a look as any from 60 feet to steal a win at the buzzer, but the shot hit the back iron.

The teams combined to score on 10 of 12 trips, starting at 5:42, to enter the final three minutes knotted at 81-all. After Ward put the Huskies in front at the 1:25 mark, UNE had an empty possession and was forced to foul three times just to send USM to the line. A missed free throw left the door open, and Avery DeBrito took it the length of the court for the tying (83-83) short jumper with 0:07 showing.

Ward and Jacobe Thomas paced the visitors with 22 points apiece, as each made more than half their field goals. Southern Maine (1-0) was just that efficient as a team, too, connecting at a 51.4 percent clip (36-for-70). Derek Haney supported with 11 points, and Marcus Christopher pulled down a team-best 10 rebounds for USM, which finished with a 49-42 edge on the glass. The Huskies, who had a 20-point scoring advantage on two-point tries, overcame 5-of-13 accuracy at the charity stripe and 18 turnovers.

The Nor'easters (0-1) had four in double figures, led by DeBrito's 19 points, and he added game-high 13 rebounds, and six assists. Alex Kravchuk tossed in 15 points, rookie Ryan Lin chipped in with 13, and Jordan Bagshaw registered 12. Jamil Hornesby shared in game-highs of six assists and three steals.

UNE only had a pair of turnovers in the 2nd frame, but its shooting percentage dipped below 30.0 (13-for-44) to settle at 36.6 overall.

The hosts used spurts of 7-0 and 8-2 in the latter portion of the 1st half to build a 46-31 cushion, only to see Southern Maine whittle the gap down to eight (49-41) at the break.

A 3-pointer by Cameron Brown with 9:31 to go gave the Huskies their first lead (64-63) since the 12:13 mark of the opening stanza. Lin answered with a basket for the Nor'easters, but USM would not trail again after a trey by Keenan Hendricks with 8:20 on the clock (67-65). UNE eventually got back level (81-81) on a triple from Bagshaw.

The teams will shift up to Gorham for another meeting Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.).