Clement leads MMA to win over Husson

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BANGOR – Maine Maritime Academy knew it would need a huge effort to beat Husson College in their North Atlantic Conference men’s basketball matchup Wednesday night.

The Mariners let their big man set the tone.

Six-foot-6 Matt Clement powered his way to a game-high 35 points, 20 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists as MMA earned an 84-75 victory at Newman Gymnasium.

“He really is a man,” said MMA coach Chris Murphy. “You look at the line he had… against the kind of attention that he got tonight.”

The dominating post play of the lefthanded-shooting junior center from Fairfield opened up some room for his teammates on the perimeter and the Mariners connected, posting their first-ever win over Husson.

“It’s a big win for us,” Clement said. “Everybody aims to beat Husson. When you come into a place like this and win a game, it makes people take notice.”

In the first game of the twinbill, the Husson women breezed to a 77-49 victory over MMA.

Murphy’s 9-9 Mariners overcame a seven-point halftime deficit by holding the Braves (13-7) to 31 second-half points. Murphy credited Adam Leclair with containing Husson standout Dwayne Ailey (14 points, 5 assists) and had Clement guard Phil White (12 points, 4 steals) rather than Buddy Leavitt.

“I think it allowed Clem a little more freedom knowing he didn’t have to cover as much ground defensively,” Murphy said.

Marc McCorrison tossed in 14 points, while B.J. Dunlap and Leclair tallied 11 and 10, respectively, providing a 3-point attack to complement Clement’s inside power game.

“They’d put a lot of pressure on me inside and then I’d just kick it out and everybody else hit big shots all game long,” Clement said.

Bill Beauregard hit five 3-pointers and led Husson with 23 points. Jeff White netted 13.

MMA opened the second half with a decisive 19-4 scoring run. Clement scored off a baseline move and provided a conventional three-point play during a 7-0 spurt that got the Mariners even at 46-46 with 16:34 left.

After a driving shot by Ailey, Neil Stewart made a 3-pointer and scored off a low post move to give MMA the lead for good. The Mariners held the Braves, who settled for a lot of outside shots, scoreless for 41/2 minutes while building a 56-48 lead.

MMA, which outrebounded Husson 48-37, eventually extended the edge to 15 points. The Mariners made 13 of 16 foul shots in the second half.

“To do it on their home floor and take control in the second half says a lot about the toughness of these kids,” Murphy said.

In the women’s game, Sarah Davis knocked down three 3-pointers during a span of 31/2 minutes, spearheading a 19-4 first-half scoring run that helped the Braves cruise.

The sophomore guard from Skowhegan hit four 3’s on her way to 14 points as Husson improved to 16-3, 12-0 in NAC play.

“That’s a huge key, to hit those to open things up inside,” said Husson coach Kissy Walker. “The thing with Sarah is that sometimes we have to tell her to keep shooting.”

Husson received 14 points from Holly Gracie and 12 points, four steals and three assists from Meghan Hughes. The Braves have many scoring threats and each of their 12 players scored at least a point.

Coach Craig Dagan’s MMA squad is dealing with the loss of two starters. Sophomore Julia Knights of Brookton, the 2003 North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, suffered a torn knee ligament in the first game of the second semester.

The next day junior Stacy Jones of Bath, MMA’s only upperclassman, broke her hand and also was lost for the season.

Freshman Shelley Gott of Bar Harbor paced MMA with a game-high 20 points. The Mariners couldn’t put together any cohesive offense against the Braves’ man-to-man defense, shooting only 27 percent from the field in the contest.

The Braves built an early 25-9 advantage by looking inside to Annie McIntosh (6 points, 9 rebounds), then utilizing their 3-point attack. Davis nailed three 3-pointers and Gracie hit one during the big run that put Husson in front to stay.

The hosts led 38-19 at halftime and were never challenged in the second half.

The start of the women’s game was delayed almost 50 minutes by two unrelated incidents. First, one of the officials scheduled to work the game arrived almost a half-hour late. Moments after her arrival, a fire alarm forced the evacuation of the building.

MARINERS 84, BRAVES 75

Maine Maritime (10-8) Husson men (13-7)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Stewart 3 8 0 0 7 Beauregard 8 16 2 2 23

Leclair 3 9 2 2 10 White 4 10 13

Dunlap 3 10 2 2 11 Ailey 5 20 14

Taylor 0 2 0 0 0 White 4 12 12

Clement 12 20 11 12 35 Leavitt 3 11 9

Poulin 0 0 0 0 0 Mulligan 1 2

McCorrison 4 5 3 5 14 Demuth 0 0 0

Russell 3 6 1 2 7 Grant 0 2 2

Totals 28 60 19 23 84 25 74 13 16 75

3-pt. goals ? MMA (9-26): McCorrison 3-4, Dunlap 3-9, Leclair 2-8, Stewart 1-3, Taylor 0-2; Husson (12-30): Beauregard 5-11, Leavitt 3-7, White 2-6, Ailey 2-6

Attendance: 500 (est.)

Halftime: Husson 44-37

BRAVES 77, MARINERS 49

Maine Maritime Acad. (9-9) Husson women (16-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Johnson 0 6 0 2 0 Martin 2 5 8

Moore 2 6 3 3 8 Ballard 1 3 4

Marshall 2 5 0 0 4 Hughes 6 8 12

Cloutier 1 3 4 4 6 Davis 5 10 14

Gott 5 17 7 9 20 McIntosh 2 9 6

Hayden 1 1 0 0 2 Mullinex 1 3

Clapham 1 8 0 0 2 Snow 1 3 5

Denham 2 4 0 0 4 Comeau 0 2 1

Parker 1 5 1 4 3 Gracie 4 8 14

Noyes 1 2 1 3

Merchant 2 3 5

McIntyre 1 4 2

Totals 15 55 15 22 49 Totals 26 59 16 25 77

3-pt. goals ? MMA (4-15): Gott 3-9, Moore 1-4, Johnson 0-2; Husson (9-23): Davis 4-9, Gracie 2-5, Ballard 1-2, Mullinex 1-2, Snow 1-2, Martin 0-1, Comeau 0-2

Attendance: 500 (est.)

Halftime: Husson 38-19