GORHAM, Maine – The Eastern Connecticut State University men's basketball team outscored the University of Southern Maine by 12 points over three-and-a-half minutes to take a two-point lead with a minute left, but a three-point play by Jose Nouchanthayong with 12 seconds left gave the Huskies a 77-76 Little East Conference victory Saturday afternoon at the Warren Hill Gymnasium.

The loss is the second in the last 40 LEC regular-season games for Eastern (12-6, 6-1 LEC), which had its lead over Western Connecticut trimmed to one  game after the Colonials routed visiting UMass Boston Saturday, 83-61. The Warriors had won their previous four games and had routed Southern Maine (10-7, 4-3 LEC), 80-61, in the conference opener for both schools Dec. 5

Eastern trailed by as many as 13 points with 12 minutes left in the game and was down by ten with four minutes left before outscoring the hosts by 12 (16-5) over three-and-a-half minutes to take its first lead of the game, 75-74, on sophomore guard Tarchee Brown's (Rockville) three-point field goal with a minute left. Leading by one, Eastern regained possession on a rebound by junior forward Hugh Lindo (Enfield) with 26 seconds left. The Warriors missed the second of two free throws, however, and Nouchanthayong – his team's season scoring leader – sank a tying jumper while being fouled with 12 seconds left, and converted the go-ahead free throw. Following a timeout, Eastern failed on a potential game-winning field goal as time expired.

During Eastern's go-ahead rally in the final minutes, senior guard Kevin Leumene (Stamford) scored twice on his own offensive rebounds, the second one pulling the Warriors to within two, 72-70, with 2:31 left. With Eastern trailing by four, Brown tossed in six straight points by putting back a rebound, nailing the go-ahead three-point field goal with a minute left, and the free throw that made it 76-74 with 26 seconds left.

Brown (off the bench) and senior guard Trachone Preston (Enfield) led Eastern with 18 points each, Brown scoring all of his points in the second half. Lindo recorded his eighth straight double-double with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, Leumene chipping in 14 points and ten rebounds.

Led by junior forward Atencio Martin, five players finished in double figures for USM and combined for every field goal and all but two of Southern Maine's points. Martin led all players with 22 points and added seven rebounds. Senior forward Aaron Toman, who had four points and three rebounds in Eastern's victory in December, came off the bench for 11 points and nine rebounds in 11 minutes.

Eastern hosts Keene State College Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in a Little East Conference game.