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AUGUSTA – Back in October, Robert Pilsbury arrived on the Husson College campus with a quick first step, an unorthodox jump shot, and a game worthy of high expectations.
Pure scorer, his coach said. Dynamic, others added. Unstoppable, fans claimed.
On Monday night, Robert Pilsbury showed (again) exactly what the fuss is all about.
The lightning-quick sophomore with the quirky “J” scored 19 points before halftime to stake the Braves to a 15-point lead, added 17 more after intermission, and led the Braves to an 84-78 win over rival St. Joseph’s in the Maine Athletic Conference championship game at Augusta Civic Center.
His 36-point effort missed Raymond Alley’s MAC tourney single-game record from 1994 by two points.
“The kid can shoot. Flat-out shoot, said teammate Ryan Rivera, who flat-out shot a little bit himself, tossing in 20 points in a 19-minute stint off the bench. “He can score. I’m happy to have him on my team, because I wouldn’t want him anywhere else but in a Husson uniform.”
Husson’s Randy Fletcher pitched in with 19 points and seven rebounds.
The top-seeded Braves improved to 21-4 and earned a slot in the NAIA Division II national tournament, which is March 7-13 in Point Lookout, Mo. Husson is ranked No. 17 in the country.
The Braves will make their third trip to the nationals in a row and their sixth in eight years.
No. 3 St. Joseph’s of Standish finishes up 17-11.
Husson coach Warren Caruso has been a Pilsbury fan since Day One.
“He adds some legitimacy to us as far as the next level,” Caruso said. “He’s capable of doing a lot of things with the basketball.”
Caruso ended up leaving the Civic Center with the win, but without his hair: The Braves shaved him nearly bald in the locker room after the victory.
“I told them they could shave me if we won,” Caruso said. “They brought the clippers.”
The clippers sat conspicuously on a training table near the court after the game, and it didn’t take long for the Braves to put them to use.
“Everyone got a piece of me,” he said. “And all of them got a picture of themselves in action.”
Caruso was philosophical after the ceremonial shearing.
“I’ve got a wife. I’ve got two kids. What do I care?” he said.
Husson pushed its advantage to 18 points after a Pilsbury 3-pointer to start the second half, but the Monks rallied and eventually pulled within 58-53 on a Leroy Gore free throw at the 9:12 mark.
Husson built that bulge back to 10, but the Monks rallied to within five twice in the final minute of play. Husson missed 5 of 6 free throws in the final 47 seconds, but the Monks weren’t able to capitalize.
“One thing about a championship game is, the [other] team’s always going to make a run. And usually, over the years, someone will always have a shot to win it, no matter how much they’re down,” Caruso said. “It never got quite to that point, but it did get within two possessions.”
St. Joseph’s received a 34-point, 11-rebound performance from 6-foot-9 sophomore C.J. Vose, but only one other Monks player was able to reach double-figures: Leroy Gore scored 11.
Pilsbury started slowly, scoring just two hoops over the game’s first eight minutes. But he jumpstarted his scoring binge by tossing in a 23-footer (one of six 3-pointers) with 12 minutes left in the first half, and never stopped firing.
“Once you hit one, you’re just gone from there,” Pilsbury said. “At least I am, personally. It starts me and I’m gone.”
Braves 84, Monks 78
St. Joseph?s (17-11) Husson (21-4)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP
Underwood 1 8 0 0 2 Russo 0 3 3
Gore 4 8 3 4 11 Fletcher 9 19 19
Vose 15 22 3 10 34 Pilsbury 14 28 36
Ifill 4 6 1 2 9 Breen 2 3 0 4
Seaver 2 6 0 0 4 Lancaster 0 4 0
McPherson 2 8 0 0 4 Brown 0 1 0
Ventry 0 0 0 0 0 Rivera 4 5 10 10 20
Pelletier 3 4 1 1 7 Griffin 1 2 2
Drayer 3 6 1 2 7
Totals 34 68 9 19 78 Totals 30 65 16 22 84
St. Joseph?s 32 78
Husson 47 84
3-pt. goals: St. Joseph?s (1-13): Vose 1-3, Underwood 0-3, Ifill 0-1, Seaver 0-3, McPherson 0-3; Husson (8-22): Pilsbury 6-13, Russo 0-3, Fletcher 0-2, Lancaster 0-2, Rivera 2-2
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