Libby named Thomas men’s coach

Dr. James Libby of Buxton, a former assistant coach at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, has been named the men’s basketball coach at Thomas College in Waterville.

Libby, who is an assistant professor of business management at Thomas, replaces Chris Young, who directed the Terriers program for the last 10 seasons.

Young will continue to serve as the Terriers’ director of athletics and will oversee the expansion of Thomas athletics, which in August was named a full member of the NCAA.

Libby takes over at Thomas after serving three seasons as the girls varsity basketball coach at Gorham High, where he led the Rams to Western Maine tournament appearances. He previously was an assistant at Saint Joseph’s and has directed the Hoop Basketball Camp in Casco, the longest-running summer basketball camp in Maine.

Libby is expected to implement a high-energy, player-centered approach that concentrates on fundamentals and fluid execution.

“The playbook is open and I am ready to hit the ground running,” Libby said. “My goal is to develop Thomas men’s basketball into an exciting program that sustains a high level of success.”

Thomas competes in the NCAA Division III North Atlantic Conference.

Libby is a former two-time state senator and a two-term state representative. He holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Maine and an MBA in business management from St. Bonaventure, as well as a B.S. in business administration from now-defunct Nasson College.

Libby previously taught business administration at Saint Joseph’s as well as math and economics at Sanford High. He has written three books, including “Took Three Lives,” “Super U. The History and Politics of the University of Maine System.”

Ryan Cilley will stay on at Thomas as the assistant coach.

Husson golf suffers rare loss

The Husson College golf team absorbed a rare defeat last weekend when it was edged by the University of Southern Maine in the Maine State Collegiate Golf Championship at Riverside Municipal Golf Course in Portland.

Husson and USM wound up in a tie with scores of 307, but the Huskies picked up the win by virtue of the fifth-man tiebreaker. Coach Bruce MacGregor’s Braves entered Wednesday’s University of Maine-Farmington Invitational with an impressive 31-1 match record.

Winslow’s Bard shines for MMA

Despite another excruciating loss for the Maine Maritime Academy football team last Saturday at Massachusetts Maritime, senior Patrick Bard turned in a career effort for the Mariners.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback set what is believed to be an MMA quarterback rushing record when he ran for 216 yards on 28 carries against the Buccaneers.

Bard scored on jaunts of 65 and 77 yards and also completed a 25-yard scoring pass to Cody Schmidt on his way to 271 all-purpose yards.

Colby’s Goss sets field-goal mark

John Goss kicked the longest field goal in Colby College history last weekend, nailing a 49-yarder in the White Mules’ 15-13 win over Middlebury.

Goss’ kick bested the 45-yarder executed by Larry Sparks back in 1979 against Wesleyan.