GORHAM — Despite a season high 32 points and 18 rebounds from Will Hanley, the Bowdoin College men’s basketball team came up just short in an 80-79 loss at Southern Maine on Tuesday night.

With the loss, the Polar Bears fell to 3-2. The Huskies improved to 5-1.

Hanley’s 32 points are one shy of his career high of 33 set last year against Bridgewater State as the senior notched his fourth doubledouble in five games this year. Ryan O’Connell and Andrew Madlinger each had 13 points for Bowdoin.

The Huskies were led by 21 points from Chris Pagentine.

Neither team shot particularly well in the opening half, as the Huskies held a 29-25 edge at the break. The game remained tight until midway through the second half, when an 11- 3 run by USM, sparked by six points from Jeremy Jackson, gave the hosts a 63-51 lead with under six minutes to play.

Bowdoin mounted a furious comeback, connecting on five 3-pointers in the closing minutes, but the Huskies were solid from the stripe, hitting 9-of-10 free throws in the final 1:31 to seal the win.

They proved important as Bowdoin’s Matt Mathias nailed a 3- pointer at the buzzer.

The Polar Bears hit just 37 percent of their shots from the field, while USM connected at a 47 percent clip. The teams were even with 42 rebounds apiece.

Former Morse High School standout Alex Kee scored 15 points for the Huskies.

Bowdoin is scheduled to host Maine-Presque Isle on Saturday at 3 p.m.