The Husson Eagles basketball teams finished their 2021-22 regular season on Saturday afternoon with a men’s/women’s conference doubleheader at Smith Gymnasium in Castine against Maine Maritime Academy.
In the men’s game, Husson never trailed but for the second straight game almost gave away a big second half lead but this time would hang on for a 58-54 win over MMA.
Husson (12-9, 9-3 North Atlantic Conference) went up early 8-2, and would lead by as many as 13 in the first half and 33-23 at the halftime break. The Eagles built that to 16 at 39-23 with 17:33 left by scoring the first six points of the second half. A layup by Marquis Flegler finished off a big 28-13 run by Maine Maritime to slice it to 52-51 with 3:34 remaining. Brett Cunningham came up with the game winner for Husson by hitting a three-pointer to push it back to a four point advantage with 50 seconds to go. DJ Bussey led the Eagles with 12 points, while J Thomas added 10 off the bench. Cameron Gerlach had 12 points, six rebounds, and five assists in the loss for the Mariners. Carter Rubin and Malachi Reincke also had 12 points each off the bench, while starter Curt Heinz owned the paint and filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, 25 rebounds, nine blocks, three assists, and three steals. MMA finished the regular season at 4-15, 2-8 in conference play. Husson earns the top Eastern Division seed for the upcoming NAC playoffs.
In the women’s game, Maine Maritime never trailed and got 20 points from Erianna Moore to ruin the chance at a perfect regular season conference mark for Husson with a 68-58 win.
MMA (19-3, 12-1 NAC) scored the first eight points and didn’t allow the Eagles to score for the first 7:06 of the first quarter. The Mariners led 18-5 early in the second and 27-18 at the halftime break. Husson sliced it to five just over three minutes into the third, but the hosts finished the period on a 17-7 spurt for a 15 point lead. The Eagles would get within six on a few occasions in the fourth quarter, but the Mariners were too much in earning the #1 East seed for the upcoming conference playoffs. Bailey Donovan led Husson in the loss with a game high 24 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks. Megan Peach added 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists. The Eagles finish the regular season 16-5, 11-1 in the NAC and had their 12 game win streak also ended. Along with the 20 points from Moore, MMA got 16 points from Maria Barela and 11 each from Lauren Cook and Makenzie Monzon. The Mariners get redemption after a 33 point loss to the Eagles in Bangor back on February 2. The playoff matchups and game times are expected to be announced for the men’s and women’s NAC Championships early next week.
