GORHAM — The University of Southern Maine campus is only 13 miles away from St. Joseph’s College in nearby Standish.

You would figure St. Joseph’s would know its neighbor better, but Monks Coach Rob Sanicola said he didn’t prepare his team well enough, after USM beat St. Joseph’s 74-58 Sunday night in Hill Gymnasium.

“I didn’t do a good job getting our guys ready to understand the pace, the physicality and the tempo of the game,” Sanicola said. “It was evident by the score. Credit goes to USM.”

USM will take the credit, and all the open shots it can generate. The Huskies rained in 11 3-pointers and shot 49 percent for the night as they romped past the Monks.

Jacob Littlefield, a junior from Mechanic Falls, scored a career-high 29 points (3 for 4 from 3-point range) and grabbed 11 rebounds. St. Joseph’s senior Steve Simonds of Buxton scored 20.

The Huskies improved to 2-3 while St. Joseph’s dropped to 1-3.

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Junior Sean Caddigan of Bethel scored 16 for USM, including 5 of 7 from beyond the arc.

“We have a lot of guys capable of knocking down shots,” Caddigan said.

Caddigan hit a zone in the first half, draining all four 3-point shots he took.

“When I’m open, I look to let it fly,” Caddigan said. “But we also want to find the best shot. It’s not about me getting the shots. It just happened to be me at that time.”

In the second half, when St. Joseph’s used more man-to-man defense, Caddigan usually had a defender in his face. Early in the half, Caddigan was covered tightly. He looked right, then underneath, slinging a high pass inside. Littlefield leapt, grabbed the ball and put it up for an easy lay-up.

“Great ball movement,” Littlefield said. “I see it every day in practice.”

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Zach Leal, a sophomore from York, who had been leading USM with a 16-point average, scored only four points, but he led the team in assists with six.

“We move the ball well. It seems to find the right person,” USM Coach Karl Henrikson said. “Very, very unselfish.”

St. Joseph’s stayed close for most of the first half. Simond’s 3-pointer closed USM’s lead to 32-29 with 3:02 left in the half.

But Littlefield went on a tear, scoring two layups, on a fast break and then on a crisp pass inside. He finished his 8-for-8 first-half effort with a 3-pointer to give USM a 39-29.

“Just one of those nights,” Littlefield said.

USM beat Division I Maine in an exhibition game but stumbled at the start of the season.

“I think it was a question of inexperience,” Henrikson said. “We’ve learned some lessons.”

NOTES: The Monks will open their Great Northeast Athletic Conference schedule Tuesday at home against Lasell. USM begins play in the Little East Conference on Saturday at Western Connecticut.


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