The Husson Eagles hosted the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners in a men’s/women’s basketball doubleheader at Newman Gymnasium in Bangor on Wednesday night.
In the men’s game, MMA led for a good portion of the first half before Husson used a huge run for a 15 point halftime lead and pulled away in the second half for a 81-54 win.
The Eagles held a one point lead twice early on, before the Mariners got a layup from Cameron Gerlach and had a 23-15 lead with 10:05 left in the first half. Husson came to life using a huge run of 27-4 over those final 10 minutes to take a 42-27 advantage to the halftime break. The hosts scored the first nine points of the second half and later went up as many as 36 in cruising to their fifth straight victory. DJ Bussey led the way for Husson (10-7, 7-1 NAC) with 22 points (5-9 three-pointers), while Justice Kendall had 21 points, three assists, and five steals. Justin Thompson added 12 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Curt Heinz led Maine Maritime Academy with 17 points and 20 rebounds. The Mariners fall to 3-13, 2-6 in conference play.
In the women’s game, Husson made a huge statement in a battle for first place in the conference with an impressive 73-40 win over MMA.
The Eagles immediately started out hot scoring the first 14 points of the first quarter, helped by some solid defensive play by Bailey Donovan and three-pointers by Vanessa Duarte and Cassie Urso. Husson led 19-7 after 10 minutes. The Mariners cut it to single digits on two occasions in the second, but that is as close as they’d be the rest of the night as the hosts ended the first half on a 12-4 run for a 36-20 halftime lead. The Eagles really put it away in the third by outscoring MMA 23-7 and cruising to their eighth straight win. The lead would eventually go to as many as 37, as the Mariners had their 11 game win streak snapped with also losing their first conference game. Donovan and Duarte had 16 points a piece to lead the way. Donovan added 15 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and five blocks. Duarte hit 4-8 three-pointers. Urso had 11 points (3-6 three-pointers), and former Ellsworth Eagle Trinity Montigny also got into double figures with 10 points. Husson is now 12-4, and now in first place with an 8-0 conference record. They shot 40% from the field and 10-22 (45.5%) from long range. Lauren Plissey was the only double digit scorer for MMA with 11 points and six rebounds, as they shot just 21% from the floor and 2-19 (10.5%) from the three-point arc. The Mariners fall to 16-3, 10-1 in the NAC.
Both Husson teams now hit the road for a pair of NAC games at Northern Vermont-Lyndon this weekend. The men face the Hornets at 5:30 p.m. Friday, with the women’s game to follow. The men play at 1 p.m. Saturday, with the women to follow once again.
