Alley key as Braves top UNE

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PORTLAND – Raymond Alley knows his storied basketball career is almost over.

Husson College’s senior sharpshooter cleared a huge mental hurdle Monday night, finally exorcising the ghost of struggles past in postseason play at the Portland Expo.

Alley tied a career high with a sparkling 38-point performance while guiding top-seeded Husson to a 95-85 victory over No. 4 University of New England in a men’s semifinal of the inaugural Maine Athletic Conference basketball tournament.

Husson, which improved to 26-4, will take on upstart University of Maine-Presque Isle in Tuesday’s 8 p.m. championship game. UNE, the No. 4 seed, closed out the season at 14-12.

Coach Bruce MacGregor’s Braves simply had too much firepower for the Red Knights of Ron Cote. Alley had his finger on the trigger.

The 5-foot-8 whirlwind jump-started the Braves with a 24-point, first-half performance, knocking down 16 points in the first six minutes.

“I came out and hit a few shots at the beginning to get my confidence, and that was all I needed,” Alley said. “I was psyched that St. Joe’s lost, too. That was a boost, knowing that we’ve got to play UMPI tomorrow. It’s my last chance to win a championship and I think this is going to be the year.”

Husson turned up the defensive intensity in the second half while coasting to victory. The Braves mixed a 1-3-1 half-court trap, a 1-3-1 zone and some aggressive full-court pressure into the mix, forcing the Knights to work and getting some turnovers in the process.

As a result, Husson was able to extend its lead to as many as 27 points. UNE picked up some garbage-time baskets to make the score look more respectable.

“I thought the next five minutes were going to be key for us,” MacGregor said of the start of the half. “We went full-court press that one spell, and we really busted it open a little bit. That was a big run for us.”

The coup de grace was a 10-point flurry during a span of 54 seconds. Alley opened the spurt with a runner and capped it with a steal and layup, with Obadiah Johnson getting two foul shots and Rich Mazurek and Bryan Jefferson a layup each.

Kevin Moore complemented Alley inside, providing 14 points and 14 rebounds. Mazurek scored 16 points and Johnson netted 13 for the winners.

For UNE, former Stearns High standout Aaron McDonald tossed in 27 points and snatched 10 rebounds, while Sean O’Shea connected for 26 points and had nine boards.

The Braves moved out to a 15-point halftime lead with a 13-2 spurt that started midway through the half. Husson tightened up its man-to-man defense, holding the Knights to one basket from 12:03 until the 3:31 mark.

In the meantime, Alley continued his gyrating penetration moves and Johnson utilized his quickness and jumping ability to lead Husson’s run.

Johnson scored with an athletic move off an inbounds play and followed that with a driving layup. Alley added an 8-foot runner in the pain and an 8-foot touch shot off a long pass from Mazurek, then Mazurek nailed a 16-footer as Husson pushed out to a 39-26 lead with 3:54 left in the half.

Both teams came out firing, lighting it up for a combined 44 points in the first 6:20 of the contest. Alley sparked Husson, pouring in 16 of his 24 first-half points in that early shootout.

“They just came out smoking. It was like bombs bursting in air. I thought the national anthem was still playing,” MacGregor said.

Braves 95, Knights 85

U-New England men Husson

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Gadbois 1 0 0 0 0 Jefferson 3 1 2 2 4

Beary 4 1 3 3 5 Tobin 0 0 0 0 0

Spinney 10 2 4 4 8 R. Alley 27 14 6 5 38

Cote 1 0 0 0 0 Knowlton 4 1 0 0 2

Gilbert 1 1 0 0 3 Johnson 10 5 3 3 13

Stevens 3 3 0 0 6 Durost 0 0 0 0 0

Gallant 1 1 0 0 2 Gerald 0 0 0 0 0

Camire 1 1 0 0 3 Mazurek 12 6 4 4 16

Watson 2 0 0 0 0 B. Alley 0 0 0 0 0

Fecteau 0 0 0 0 0 Sinclair 3 0 2 2 2

O’Shea 23 10 5 4 26 Watkins 5 3 1 0 6

McDonald 21 10 4 3 27 Moore 10 7 2 0 14

Cole 11 2 2 0 5

Totals 79 31 18 14 85 Totals 74 37 20 16 95

U-New England 32 85

Husson 47 95

3-pt. goals: U-New England (9-25): Gadbois 0-1, Spinney 0-4, Cote 0-1, Gilbert 1-1, Camire 1-1, O’Shea 2-6, McDonald 4-8, Cole 1-3; Husson (5-20): Alley 5-12, Sinclair 0-3, Knowlton 0-2, Mazurek 0-3