Braves face NAIA challenge Husson playing host Northwest Nazarene in first-round game

BOISE, Idaho – It is an old, tired cliche to the locals. But the Rocky Mountain High experienced by Bruce MacGregor and the Husson Braves has nothing to do with big blue skies or snow-capped ridges of champagne powder.

Instead, as they shipped off to practice on Wednesday afternoon, the Braves wore smiles of relief, knowing they are one of only 24 teams invited to this year’s NAIA Division II national basketball tournament.

“We’re just very happy to be here,” said MacGregor from his downtown Boise hotel. “I just love it out here. The scenery and the climate are ideal, almost perfect. And I love the people – they’re incredibly friendly. We’ve had a great time.”

The sponsors and tournament committee have gone out of their way for Husson, treating the players and coaches to luncheons at riverside restaurants and paying for 18 holes of golf at exclusive country clubs. Everyone, MacGregor said, has been friendly.

That will end tonight. The Braves, 28-3, face the Northwest Nazarene Crusaders, 23-7, in the first round of the tournament at 10 p.m. EST. Husson has returned to the NAIA nationals after a one-year absence.

Northwest Nazarene is the host of the tournament, and its gym will be packed with fans that are the small-college equivalent of Duke’s Cameron Crazies. The only reason NNC got into the tournament last seasons is because it was the host. But 4,500 delirious fans carried the team to the semifinals.

MacGregor, who thought his team would get a first-round bye, wasn’t happy – to put it mildly – with his team’s draw.

“I don’t mean to harp on it, and I won’t, but we don’t think this is a smart draw for us or them,” he said. “We’ve got as good a record as any team in the tournament. We thought we’d get a bye. We surely didn’t think we’d be hooked up with the host team.”

MacGregor was in Nampa, a farming community 20 minutes from Boise, as a member of the tournament committee last year. He saw what Montgomery Fieldhouse is like – 4,500 fans packed into what is basically a large high school gym. It is an old, musty, brick building with dim lights and wooden bleachers.

Adding to Husson’s problems are the Crusaders themselves, who won the Cascade Conference behind a balanced scoring effort.

“We just have to play well,” MacGregor said. “The crowd will be a factor, but we can either let them be boisterous or quiet them down a bit. It seems like a trite answer, but we just have to play well.”

Husson, as always, will rely on the outside shooting of Ray Alley (21 ppg) and three other players who scored in double figures. The Braves’ biggest strength against the Crusaders, however, could be on the boards.

Husson, led by 6-foot-9 freshman center Kevin Moore, outrebounded its opponents by more than eight boards a game.

NNC, whose inside players rely on quickness instead of brute size or strength, basically played even with its opponents in rebounding.

Three other Maine teams are also competing in the NAIA’s national Division II tournaments. Westbrook College, 30-4, faces Ohio Dominican, 23-9, in the men’s tournament at 4 p.m. EST.

Westbrook College, 23-3, and St. Joseph’s College, 23-4, play in first- round games in the women’s tournament at Monmouth, Ore. Westbrook takes on Shawnee State, 18-11, from Ohio at 3 p.m. EST St. Joseph’s faces Panhandle State, 22-7, at 10 p.m.