Every December for the past 36 years, Husson College has invited three men’s basketball teams to Bangor, played a couple of games, and made every effort to make sure the distinctive figurine that serves as the spoils of victory for the Paul Bunyan Basketball Tournament remains in town.

Much of the time, the Braves have been successful, and Paul Bunyan has stayed in the River City.

Last year, the Braves weren’t, and Paul didn’t: New Jersey Tech won the tourney title and took the miniature lumberjack back south.

On Saturday, three more teams will renew the December tradition at Newman Gym on the Husson campus. Notre Dame College of Manchester, N.H., will take on the University of Maine-Presque Isle at 1 p.m., while Husson faces Fisher College of Boston at 3. On Sunday, the consolation game is set for 1 p.m., the championship game at 3.

Husson coach Warren Caruso said his 3-3 Braves won’t look past a Fisher team that ended up winning the season-opening Bengal Tipoff Classic in Fort Kent.

“To go up to Fort Kent and win at Fort Kent, they’re a good basketball team,” Caruso said. “That’s enough for us to know we’re gonna have to play well to win.”

One thing working in Husson’s favor: The Braves have regained the services of standout junior guard Robert Pilsbury, a third-team NAIA All-American a year ago.

Pilsbury, who missed Husson’s first four games while waiting for academic clearance, has picked up right where he left off, scoring 26.5 points per game in two games.

Caruso said Pilsbury took a course from another institution that would give him 48 accumulated credit hours and make him eligible.

“It was a class they had until April to complete. He finished the class early, then we had to wait for the professor to grade the material,” Caruso said.

Caruso said that playing without Pilsbury actually may have helped the Braves, as they learned to play without him.

Caruso has opted to leave his pre-Pilsbury starting five intact in the last two games, and three of those Braves are scoring in double figures.

Junior forward Randy Fletcher has averaged 15.2 points and 7.3 rebounds a contest while junior Nate Cyr of Howland (12.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and senior guard Quinson Lancaster of Fairfield (10.2 ppg, 5.3 rpg) have also played well. Center Scott Griffin of Presque Isle is scoring 9.5 ppg and has grabbed 5.2 rpg. Junior Ryan Rivera of Bradford (8.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg) has been the fifth starter.

Colby battles Bowdoin tonight

Jack Kelley, former Pittsburgh Penguins president and Hartford Whalers coach-general manager, will drop the ceremonial first puck at Colby College’s Alfond Arena in Waterville tonight for the 175th renewal of the Colby-Bowdoin men’s hockey game.

Kelley had two stints coaching Colby and also guided Boston University to two NCAA championships.

Bowdoin leads the series 89-79-6 and both come into the game undefeated. Colby is 6-0 while Bowdoin is 4-0-1.

Kelley, who has 305 wins to his credit courtesy of his stints at Colby and Boston University, has had a scholarship established in his name by an anonymous donor and will be honored by the school.

Kelley coached the Mules from 1955-1962 before leaving for BU where he compiled a 200-80-8 record in 10 years and led BU to back-to-back national championships in 1971 and ’72. No team has won consecutive NCAA Division I championships since.

He left BU to become the coach and general manager of the World Hockey Association’s Whalers but returned to coach Colby in the 1976-77 season.

Kelley returned to the Whalers as the GM and director of hockey operations the next year.

It will also be alumni weekend.

“Since I’ve been here, I’ve learned about him through the alumni. Jack has left an impression on the lives of people throughout hockey,” praised Colby coach Jim Tortorella.

Saturday’s game, according to Tortorella, will boil down to “the play of the seniors and the goaltending.”

The Mules, according to the Mule coach, have received a lot of mileage from five freshmen: centers Nick Bayley (7 goals, 5 assists) and Cory Ernst (3 & 2); left wing Patrick Walsh (2 & 5); defenseman Eric Molander (0 & 1); and goalie Chris Ries (3-0, 1.50 goals-against average, .906 save percentage).

Sophomore defenseman Nick Meintel (2 & 7), senior RW James Laliberty (3 & 5), and senior defenseman Sean O’Grady (2 & 5) are also among the team’s top point-getters.

Bowdoin has been paced by veterans Mike Carosi (4 & 7), Sean Starke (5 & 5), and Chris Pelletier (3 & 4); defensemen Nate Riddell (1 & 6), David Rush (1 & 3), and Brian Shuman (0 & 4); and sophomore goalie Mike Healey (4-0-1, 1.68, .934).