GORHAM, Maine - Junior guard Jaysean Morgan (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) reeled off a career-high 27 points but it wasn't enough as the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team was edged at the University of Southern Maine, 76-72, in a Little East Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at Hill Gym.

Classmate guard Tayejon Lynch (Cambria Heights, N.Y.) and sophomore forward Marcel Henry (Yonkers, N.Y.) chipped in with 12 points apiece in the losing effort. 

Thomas Whelan led the hosts with a game-high 29 points while Andrew Hartel added a double-double on 10 points and 10 boards. 

The game was close in the early going before the Wolves went on a run to capture a 37-26 lead when Morgan drilled one of his four three-pointers on the afternoon. The second half was a different story as the Huskies quickly closed the gap and eventually snagged a 42-41 advantage courtesy of an offensive putback from Evans Sterling. However, WestConn countered with yet another run and would go up 58-46 with just under 10 minutes remaining when Morgan stepped to the line and sank a pair. 

Southern Maine retaliated with another flurry and would take a 63-62 lead with 3:55 left to play when Whelan scurried in for a layup. The Huskies would lead the rest of the way. WestConn cut it to 74-72 when Morgan knocked down another trifecta with 15 ticks to go. The Huskies answered with a layup to make it a four-point gap with nine seconds to go before Morgan attempted a heave from beyond-the-arc at the buzzer.

With the loss, WestConn dropped to 3-4 overall and 0-2 in league play, while the Huskies moved to 4-5 and 1-1. The Wolves will look to pierce the win column once again when they travel to the University of Hartford on Thursday at 5 p.m.