BRUNSWICK

The University of Southern Maine men’s basketball team had the lead for all of two minutes in Tuesday night’s Division III basketball game against Bowdoin College, and in a split second, it was gone.

With a one-point lead late in the game, Jack Simonds and Liam Farley hit back-to-back 3-pointers to force a timeout and give the Polar Bears their cushion right back.

Before USM even blinked, the game was out of reach again and Bowdoin went on to win 86-79 at Morrell Gymnasium.

“I thought we played better defense during that stretch. Got some stops,” Bowdoin coach Tim Gilbride said. “Then we got some easier buckets in transition. We were struggling against their half-court set man defense — they were playing real aggressive. Defensively got us going offensively with some stops and opened things up a bit in transition. That was kind of the key juncture in the game.”

Both the treys from Simonds and Farley came on the left wing in transition.

“I think we’re a young team, but we’ve had experiences in those type of games,” Simonds said. “The first four games prior to this, I’m pretty sure the other team took a lead in the second half and we’ve always battled back. I think that’s what it’s about — stick together, get back together. No individual can come back by themselves.”

Simonds led the way for Bowdoin (3-2), notching a team-high 19 points and hauling in eight boards. The 6-foot-6 sophomore gave USM (3-3) fits all over the court, posting up inside and stepping back for a pair of treys. His five points in the opening two minutes sparked an 8-0 run for the Polar Bears to start the game.

“He’s a money player,” Gilbride said. “The fact that he can score inside or outside makes it tough. If they’re playing someone quick on him and they’re denying him out here and he gets frustrated, we’ve got to make sure we try get him the ball inside in those situations. Conversely, if they try to put a bigger guy on him, he can step out.”

By the end of the game, though, balance was the key word for Bowdoin. Four of the five starters finished in double digits, with David Reynolds coming off the bench and posting 13 points. Tim Ahn and Farley split 26 points from the guard spot, while senior Neil Fuller finished with 12.

“It was really nice to get a lot of balanced scoring from everybody,” Simonds said. “Everyone contributed. Tim (Ahn) was doing really good and Hugh (O’Neil) had like a million rebounds. It’s always nice to have the balance in scoring because you can’t really key-in on one person. If they are, you can allocate the ball other places, so I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”

Ahn also dished out a career-high 14 assists and was a cool 7-of-8 from the free-throw line, while O’Neil brought down a game-high 14 boards.

Long ball

USM, which scored 12 of its first 14 points from beyond the arc, faced a 42-33 deficit at halftime and relied heavily on the 3-pointer to spark a 15-2 run to get back into the game. Down eight midway through the second half, Jalen Lincoln splashed consecutive treys to bring the score to 59-57 and silence the home crowd. A couple minutes and another 3- pointer later and the Huskies had their first lead at 63-61.

All of Lincoln’s 18 points came from distance, where he went 6-of-7.

“They’re a good shooting team,” Simonds said. “We just had a couple miscommunications on defense. Really focused on communicating clearly on defense and getting after it collectively.”

Zach Leal, who played 39 minutes and scored a game-high 30 points, was also a factor outside for the Huskies, hitting a pair of treys and dishing six assists. The senior hit a deep shot late and completed a hoop and harm play with 40 seconds left to bring the score within six, but time ran out.

As a team, the Huskies shot 50 percent from 3-point land in the first half and just under 48 percent for the game.

“A couple times they shot when I thought we defended pretty well,” Gilbride said. “Other times, we didn’t defend well and they were getting some open looks. If they’re contested and making shots, good for them. But we’re breaking down too many times and giving them some open looks and that’s something we’re going to have to work on.”

James Starks III added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Early foul trouble hurt the Huskies, with Starks III and Bryon McMillan both finding the bench in the first half.

Farley, who sealed the game with a hoop-and-harm play at the 1:41 mark, finished 3-of-5 from distance and totaled seven boards. Former Brunswick High School standout Blake Gordon hit two 3-pointers and the Polar Bears combined for just six turnovers.

Bowdoin 86, USM 79

At Morrell Gymnasium in Brunswick

USM	—	33	46	—	79
Bowdoin		— 42	44	—	86

USM — Omar Haji Hersi 0-0-0, Zach Leal 10-8-30, Jacob Littlefield 3-0-6, Christian McCue 1-0-2, James Starks III 7-2-16, Bryon McMillian 1-0-3, Cam Scott 0-0-0, Jamal Richard 1-0- 2, Jalen Lincoln 6-6-18, Kevin Weisser 0-0-0, Fred Knight 0-0-0. Totals — 29-10-79. Bowdoin — Tim Ahn 3-7-13, Neil Fuller 4-4-12, Jack Simonds 7-3-19, Liam Farley 4-2-13, Hugh O’Neil 2-2- 6, Blake Gordon 2-2-6, Jack Bors 1- 0-2, David Reynolds 6-0-13. Totals — 30-18-86. 3-point field goals — (USM) Lincoln 6, Leal 2, Littlefield, McCue, Bryon McMillian; (B) Farley 3, Simonds 2, Gordon 2, Reynolds. Records — Bowdoin 3-2, USM 3-3. Up next for the Polar Bears — Saturday at home vs. Colby, 3 p.m.