Maybe home cooking will be more agreeable to the Husson College men’s basketball team this weekend.

The Eagles will take part in their third straight weekend tournament Friday and Saturday, but this time around, they won’t have to travel to do it.

That’s could be a big plus, considering the Eagles are 0-4 due to defensive struggles.

“We really need to start building some momentum and get in some games as well as rhythm,” said Husson head coach Warren Caruso. “We need to see better defense, which we haven’t performed well with our ball pressure on the perimeter and our play inside. Teams are shooting over 50 percent against us.”

Opponents are shooting 55.5 percent and averaging 88 points a game, to be exact. Meanwhile, Husson is averaging 77.0 while shooting 47.1 percent.

Despite a largely veteran lineup, the Eagles are still struggling with defensive fundamentals and mental mistakes. Some of that could be the result of the departure of three lineup regulars from last season: Andy Frost of Brewer, Micah Grant of Winslow, and Joe Footer of Calais.

Footer, a business major at Husson who also takes technical trade classes at Eastern Maine Community College, has decided to focus solely on his academic pursuits. Frost transferred to the University of Southern Maine and Grant to Gordon College.

“Right now, we feel we’re a better team than we were last year with different pieces of a puzzle,” Caruso said. “We’re still a deeper and more experienced team, but there is an adjustment period with some of these guys gone.”

Even with those players’ departures, there wasn’t much chance of cracking the still-deep Husson rotation, but that hasn’t stopped Jordan Heath, a 6-foot-1 freshman guard from Bangor, from not only carving out regular minutes for himself, but starting. Heath started both San Francisco Classic games last weekend and is averaging 5.5 points in 191/2 minutes per game.

“He’s playing very well for us right now on both ends of the floor,” said Caruso. “He’s shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and is probably one of our most consistent players.”

Center Buddy Leavitt of Guilford is Husson’s leading scorer at 17.8 ppg and rebounder (6.8 rpg). Fellow senior Phil White is averaging 12.3 ppg with 4.5 rpg and 2.0 steals. Junior forward Tyler Muzzy (11.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) of Greenville and junior guard Jason Harvey (10.5 ppg) are the leading assist men at 2.8 and 3.0 assists per game, respectively. Junior guard Bill Beauregard rounds out the top scorers with 10.3 ppg.

Even with his team’s slow start, Caruso remains optimistic and convinced his team will contend for the North Atlantic Conference championship.

“We’re very pleased where we’re at right now, despite being 0-4,” said Caruso. “On Friday [against Division II Notre Dame de Namur University] we were up five at halftime and it was a one-possession game through the entire second half. We missed a jumper at the buzzer to win, so that was very disappointing.

“On Saturday, we got down early and then battled back to within four, but we ended up losing [90-70] to a very good team. One thing about this team is they compete against everybody.”

Husson’s players were treated to a good time while in San Francisco for five days: taking tours of the Oakland Alameda Coliseum, Alcatraz prison, Fisherman’s Wharf, and Pier 39 while also attending a Golden State Warriors home game against San Antonio.

Now it’s time to host a tourney for a change. Husson will take on University of Maine-Presque Isle Friday at 7:30 p.m. in the Paul Bunyan Tournament after UM-Fort Kent plays Bates College at 5:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the losing teams will play at 1 p.m. and the winners at 3 p.m.

Colby’s Oliphant is all-star pick

Dan Oliphant, a senior on the Colby College football team, has been selected to play for the American Football Coaches Association Division III all-star team in the 2005 Aztec Bowl.

The game against the Mexican National Team is scheduled for Dec. 17 in Toluca, Mexico.

Oliphant, a co-captain for the White Mules, anchored an offensive line that helped Colby average 329 yards of total offense this fall. The Chatham, N.J., native was an All-New England Small College Athletic Conference choice in 2005.

Colby teammate Peter Sherman played in the game last year.