Husson set to tip off postseason Braves hosting NAC quarterfinals tonight

Husson College will host two North Atlantic Conference quarterfinal basketball playoff games Tuesday at Newman Gymnasium in Bangor.

The women – the top seed in the NAC’s East division – will play No. 4 Maine Maritime Academy at 7:30 p.m. while the men – the No. 2 East seed – will entertain No. 7 Mount Ida College of Newton Centre, Mass., at 5:30 p.m.

The Braves women will try to make it three straight against the 12-12 Mariners after beating them 48-39 in Castine Dec. 9 and 77-49 at home Feb. 5.

The Mariners (10-7 in NAC play) are led by former Mount Desert Island star Shelley Got, who is averaging 14.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Madawaska’s Meghan Marshall adds to the Mariners’ inside game with 6.9 rebounds per game. Rebecca Moore and Amanda Johnson are averaging 2.8 and 2.6 assists, respectively, per game.

The 21-4 Braves counter with a well-balanced offense led by freshman guard Crystal Martin (10.9 ppg) of Calais, freshman forward-center Annie McIntosh (9.9 ppg) of Gloucester, and sophomore guard Holly Gracie (9.4 ppg). McIntosh is third in the conference in rebounding with 9.4 per game and fourth in shooting percentage at 47.2.

The Braves are in position to host all three playoff games. If they keep winning, they will also be home for games on Friday and Saturday.

The other games are No. 3 East seed Thomas College (11-13) at No. 2 University of Maine-Farmington (19-6). In the West division, No. 4 Becker College (8-17) is at No. 1 Castleton State (17-8) and No. 3 Johnson State (10-14) at No. 2 Mount Ida (18-6).

In men’s action, the 15-10 Braves (13-5 in NAC) are led by senior guard Dwayne Ailey (16.2 ppg). Ailey is leading the NAC with 4.6 assists per game. Junior forward Buddy Leavitt of Guilford is averaging 13.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. Freshman forward Bill Beauregard (12.1 ppg) and junior forward Jeff White of Etna (48.1 percent shooting) also pace the Braves.

Husson, which has won seven conference titles in the last 10 years, swept the regular season series, beating the Mustangs 93-92 at home Feb. 1 and 82-59 on the road Saturday.

“Every game has its unique timing and I think the last game, we played pretty well and they already knew their seeding with another game coming up on Sunday,” said Husson coach Warren Caruso.

“We’re coming off a positive weekend and we’ve still managed to be the No. 2 seed despite all the adversity we’ve faced,” Caruso added. “With injuries, players opting not to play, and grade restrictions, it’s been tough, but I see a positive out of that because some younger guys got positive minutes and now we have a deeper lineup than we would have without the struggles.”

The 11-14 Mount Ida Mustangs are led by Josh Didick, the NAC’s second-leading scorer with 20.7 points per game. Scott Chamberlain (15.2 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Matt McGaughran (12.7 ppg, 2.8 apg), Jesse Erskine (6.1 rpg) and Raul Lopez (3.6 apg) also lead the Mustangs.

The other games match up No. 8 Thomas (5-19) at No. 1 Lasell College (22-3), No. 6 MMA (13-10) at No. 3 Castleton State (14-11), and No. 5 UMF (13-12) at No. 4 Elms College (13-12).

Semifinals and finals action shifts to Lasell College in Newton, Mass., on Friday and Saturday.

In the Sunrise Conference, there is one midweek postseason game involving a Maine school.

The University of Maine-Fort Kent women’s team is preparing for Wednesday night’s quarterfinal against Fisher College of Boston.

The 11-12 Bengals go in as the No. 4 seed, while Fisher (0-10 in league play) is seeded fifth. The winner advances to the Sunrise Conference Final Four, which begins Saturday at Lyndon State College in Lyndonville, Vt.