Bates stops Husson for crown Stockwell, Ray power Bobcats by Eagles in Bunyan tourney

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BANGOR – Coming into Saturday’s Paul Bunyan Tournament championship game against Husson College, the Bates College Bobcats knew they had to figure out a way to stop the Eagles’ deadly offense.

They did, in the form of a 2-3 trap zone defense, designed to force Husson to take contested perimeter shots.

“We knew they have great 3-point shooters; we were hoping instead of giving them easy layups they were gonna have to take some contested 3s,” said tourney most valuable player Rob Stockwell.

The strategy helped Lewiston-based Bates limit Husson to 43 percent shooting while working hard for its shots en route to an 81-68 win at Newman Gymnasium.

Bates improved to 5-1 while Husson slipped to 1-5.

The University of Maine-Fort Kent beat UM-Presque Isle 71-49 in the consolation game.

The turning point in the contest came around the midway point in the first half, with the Eagles leading 13-11. Stockwell’s jumper from the low block tied the score at 13, then Sean Cahill nailed a pull-up 3-pointer to give Bates the lead for good.

After Husson closed to within a hoop, the Bobcats went on a 15-0 run over the next three minutes, culminating in a Bryan Wholey free throw, giving Bates a 31-15 advantage.

Husson got no closer than seven after that.

The Eagles made some noise in the second half, but the Bobcats put the game away by converting their free throws in the game’s final minutes.

“[Husson] made a great effort, they stepped up and made some big shots,” said Stockwell, who finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, both team-highs. “We were just lucky we made our free throws down the stretch and got some rebounds when we needed them.”

And it seemed every time Husson would put something together, Bates would respond.

“Once they scored a couple points on us, we’d tighten up the defense and transition into quick, easy offense. That’s how we spread the lead back out,” said point guard and former Bangor High star Zak Ray.

Ray directed the Bobcats’ quick, efficient fast break, which translated into many easy buckets.

“We emphasize that in practice, getting out on the fast break and getting easy hoops,” said Ray, who finished with 10 points and eight assists.

Ray enjoyed playing a pair of games in his hometown as well.

“It’s always great to come home, even better to come home and win,” he said.

The Bobcats dominated the glass, outrebounding Husson 36-18, including 8-3 on the offensive side.

Bates coach Joe Reilly said that patience on offense would be one of the keys to stopping Husson’s run-oriented offense.

“They’re capable of making big runs, and we talked about different ways that we wanted to not feed into their run and be patient on offense and keep the ball out of their hands a little bit,” he said.

Wholey finished with 14 points for Bates and Cahill notched 12.

Buddy Leavitt led the Husson offense with 20 points, including 5-for-11 from 3-point range. Tyler Muzzy scored 17 and Jason Harvey 13.

Coach Warren Caruso noted that the Bobcats turned in a strong performance.

“They outrebounded us, they took better care of the ball. It really comes down to the fact that they played better in every aspect of the game,” he said. “We gotta find some answers to what we’re doing wrong.”

Early in the first half, Eagles starting guard Sheraud Lee left the game after rolling his ankle and didn’t return. Caruso said he is “day to day.”

Ray, Leavitt, and Harvey all earned spots on the Bunyan All-Tourney team along with UMPI’s Brett Miles and UMFK’s Edmundus Akstinas.

BOBCATS 81, EAGLES 68

Bates (5-1) Husson (1-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ray 4 10 1 2 10 Heath 3 6 0 9

Wholey 5 8 2 2 14 Lee 0 0 0

Cahill 3 3 4 9 12 Harvey 4 10 13

Chudomel 2 4 4 6 8 White 3 7 9

Stockwell 7 14 2 2 17 Leavitt 7 17 20

Lattimer 3 3 1 2 7 Figueroa 0 0

Halloran 1 4 4 4 6 Kissinger 0 0

Taylor 3 3 1 2 7 Beauregard 0 0

Westhuis 0 0 0 0 0 Muzzy 7 11 17

Henry 0 0 0 0

Totals 28 49 19 29 81 24 55 12 68

Bates 38 81

Husson 26 68

3-pt. goals – Bates (6-14): Wholey 2-2, Cahill 2-2, Stockwell 1-4, Ray 1-4, Halloran 0-2; Husson (12-27): Leavitt 5-11, Heath 3-6, Harvey 2-3, Muzzy 2-3, White 0-1, Figueroa 0-1, Kissinger 0-1, Beauregard 0-1

Attendance: 700 (est.)

In the consolation game, Darius Parker led five players in double figures with 15 points to lead the Bengals to victory.

Billy Russo recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for UMaine-Fort Kent. Jordan Allen notched 14 points, Akstinas 13, and Rytis Kriunas 12.

Miles sparked the Owls with 17 points and Jonathan Cooley added 12.

(Consolation Game)

UM-Fort Kent (3-5) 71

Allen 5-3-14, Kriunas 3-4-12, Akstinas 6-1-13, Russo 3-4-10, Parker 4-5-15, Bassue 1-2-4, Meyers, Russo, Bard 1-0-3

UM-Presque Isle (1-4) 49

Hodgdon 1-0-2, Miles 5-3-17, Sandoval 2-1-5, Cooley 5-0-12, Kline 1-1-3, Ouellette 0-1-1, Mongomery 2-0-4, Adams 2-1-5, Wire

3-pt. goals: Kriunas 2, Parker 2, Bard, Allen; Miles 4, Cooley 2

Halftime: UM-Fort Kent 35-21