Braves break loose to defeat Thomas men> Husson women handle Terriers

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BANGOR – After getting outplayed and outworked for the first 12 minutes of the game by the hustling Thomas College Terriers, Husson College seniors Rick Sinclair and Bryan Jefferson woke the Braves out of their doldrums.

Behind Sinclair and Jefferson, Husson outscored Thomas 25-8 over the final eight minutes of the first half and then opened the second half with a 19-5 run to pull away from the scrappy Terriers for a 89-72 Maine Athletic Conference victory.

Earlier in the evening, the Husson women blitzed Thomas with a 42-13 first-half outburst and cruised to a 75-42 triumph.

Jefferson and Sinclair credited Husson’s defense with sparking the two runs.

“We went from our man-to-man to a match-up zone to a 1-3-1,” explained Sinclair. “We kept them off balance and we started getting offense from our defense. We made some steals and got some layups off them.”

“We put more pressure on the ball,” said Jefferson, who ignited the defensive effort with his quickness and anticipation.

“Husson played very well defensively,” said Thomas coach Chris Young. “Husson has a very good team and you can’t afford to have five-minute letdowns against them.”

Husson is now 14-12 overall, 8-2 in the Maine Athletic Conference. Thomas fell to 5-18, 2-9.

Husson coach Warren Caruso was happy to get the win but not pleased with his team’s performance.

“We should be rounding into championship form and we aren’t,” said Caruso. “We aren’t hungry. You’ve got to give Thomas credit, they were hungrier than we were [in the first half].”

Thomas was holding a 25-21 lead with 7:48 left in the half when a conventional three-point play by Mike McCaffrey off an offensive rebound jump-started a run of 11 unanswered points for the Braves.

Sinclair scored seven of Husson’s next eight points and finished with 17 in the first half.

Husson led 44-33 at the half and its second-half run built the lead to 63-38.

Sinclair had seven of the early second-half points and Fran McAneany, who brought a 1.4 points-per-game average into the contest, contributed six more.

Thomas tried to rally but couldn’t get closer than 13.

Sinclair finished with a game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Jefferson had 16 points, McCaffrey contributed 12 points, and Michael Dyt and Brian Alley chipped in with 11 points apiece.

Tommy Reynolds had 17 points for Thomas and he also set the school single-season record for assists.

“It feels nice but it would have been better if we had won,” said Reynolds, who now has 212 assists on the season.

Chris Mahon had 14 points, Tyler Graves tossed in 13 more and Wade Plummer scored 12 points.

In the opener, the Husson women, who had to rally to beat upset-minded Thomas here a year ago, didn’t give the Terriers a chance to harbor thoughts of an upset as they outscored the Terriers 32-6 over the final 14 minutes of the first half.

Husson is 17-7 overall, 8-1 in the conference, while Thomas fell to 4-18, 1-10 in MAC play.

With Husson leading 10-7, junior guard Sue Ann Allen triggered a 20-4 run that broke the game open. Allen scored six consecutive points with a driving layup, a four-foot turnaround jumper off the glass, and a layup off her own steal.

Following a Thomas timeout, Amanda Pomerleau nailed a 3-pointer and following a basket by Thomas’ Christine Cracolici, Pomerleau fed a wide-open Carrie Cram for a 3-pointer from the right side of the key. Cram had just entered the game seconds before.

Chrissie Vanasse hit from the baseline for Thomas to make it 22-11, but the Braves scored the next eight points with Pomerleau hitting the first two baskets.

Leanne Tarr hit a 10-footer for Thomas with six and a half minutes left in the half but Thomas wouldn’t score again. Husson reeled off the final 12 points of the half. Freshman forward Kim Palmer scored eight of those 12 points including a 6-for-6 showing from the foul line.

Thomas coach Rob Callahan said Husson’s man-to-man was very effective.

“They got right in our faces and we came out flat” said Callahan. “Husson came out ready to play.”

“We communicated well and we helped out [on switches],” agreed Allen. “When you know you’re going to get help, you can be more aggressive.”

The Braves received balanced scoring, led by Palmer’s 13 points.

Becky Moholland finished with 12 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Pomerleau had 11 points, while Allen and Cram netted 10 each. Emily Walker had eight rebounds to go with seven points.

Cracolici finished with a game-high 15 points for Thomas and Angie Ramos and Karin Burdin had eight rebounds each.

Braves 89, Terriers 72

Thomas men (5-18) Husson (14-12)

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

O’Brion 2 11 0 0 6 Jefferson 6 9 3 6 16

Plummer 4 6 4 6 12 McCaffrey 5 11 2 3 12

Graves 5 10 3 5 13 Alley 3 8 5 7 11

Reynolds 5 13 6 10 17 McAneany 3 3 0 0 6

Mahon 7 10 0 0 14 Sinclair 9 16 4 4 24

Pokyrwka 2 5 0 0 4 Dyt 3 6 5 5 11

Karnes 1 4 1 4 3 J. Durost 1 5 0 0 3

Heal 1 5 0 0 3 Cameron 1 4 0 0 2

Nadeau 0 2 0 0 0 Funk 1 1 0 0 2

Foye 1 2 0 0 2

Grubke 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 27 66 14 25 72 Totals 33 65 19 25 89

Thomas 33 72

Husson 44 89

3-pt. goals: Thomas (4-14): O’Brion 2-8, Reynolds 1-1, Heal 1-3, Plummer 0-1, Nadeau 0-1; Husson (4-16): Sinclair 2-7, Jefferson 1-2, Durost 1-2, Cameron 0-1, Foye 0-1, McCaffrey 0-3

Braves 75, Terriers 42

Thomas women (4-18) Husson (17-7)

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

Fecteau 2 9 2 2 7 Moholland 5 8 2 6 12

Poland 0 3 2 2 2 Allen 5 12 0 0 10

Burdin 1 8 0 0 2 Grant 1 4 0 0 2

Ramus 2 7 0 0 4 Pomerleau 5 13 0 0 11

Tarr 3 7 1 2 8 Walker 3 8 1 2 7

Cracolici 7 9 1 5 15 Emerson 1 4 1 2 4

Vanasse 1 5 0 0 2 Cram 3 5 3 4 10

Bickford 0 1 0 0 0 Russ 1 1 0 0 2

Doyon 1 2 0 1 2 Lumbert 1 5 2 2 4

Cayford 0 1 0 0 0 Palmer 2 3 9 10 13

Keyte 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 17 52 6 12 42 Totals 27 63 18 26 75

Thomas 42 75

Husson 13 42

3-pt. goals: Thomas (2-11): Fecteau 1-5, Tarr 1-2, Poland 0-2, Doyon 0-1, Cayford 0-1; Husson (3-8): Pomerleau 1-5, Cram 1-2, Emerson 1-1

Preliminary: