Husson splits games against Becker Eagles cruise to win in men’s game; Karat leads Hawks in women’s contest

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BANGOR – Saturday afternoon’s basketball doubleheader between Husson College and Becker College featured two very different games.

The opener was a suspenseful, back-and-forth affair in which fans, players and coaches alike had to wait out the final seconds before the winner was decided. The only suspense in the men’s game afterward had to do with how large Husson’s margin of victory would be.

It ended up being 39 points as the men stormed out to a 21-2 lead in the first 11 minutes and never looked back in their 87-48 dismantling of a foul-saddled Hawks team that fell apart in the first half.

The women’s game went to Becker of Leicester, Mass., however, but not before both teams sweated out a 75-73 thriller that came down to the final seconds.

Saturday’s women’s game could be called a 23-Karat effort as sophomore guard Kristin Karat capped a game-high 23-point outing with a game-winning, 3-pointer from the right wing with 28 seconds left.

“It’s huge because it’s our last game before break, Husson’s a good team, and it’s big for our momentum,” said Karat, who missed two years of action after suffering a back injury at another school her freshman year.

Karat’s winning 3-point shot came just seconds after a missed 3-pointer from the same spot. Teammate Rachel Pinak rebounded her miss and tried to tip it in, but it rattled off the rim into Beth Pion’s hands. Pion tried to put it back as well, but her shot was blocked by Husson’s Annie McIntosh. The block bounced to Karat, who wasted no time jacking up the winning shot.

“She and Beth are both sophomores, but they played for me in high school and it’s like having seniors out there,” said Becker coach Dean Godin. “They work really well together and I know I can put the game in Kristin’s hands.”

Kristin’s hands also made five assists and four steals.

Pion was no slouch either as she tallied 20 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots. She and fellow sophomore forward Rachel Pinak were practically unstoppable underneath as Pinak kicked in 11 points and four boards.

“We needed to get down low against these guys because we’re an inside-out team,” said Pion, who is coming back from offseason ankle surgery.

It was Becker’s play in the paint and clutch perimeter shooting from Karat (5-for-11 from 3-point range) and Jessica Crebase (1-for-2 and 11 points) that tipped the game in the 5-3 Hawks’ favor.

“I thought Becker’s go-to people came through better than ours,” said coach Kissy Walker, whose Eagles are now 4-4. “They got the job done and we didn’t really follow what we wanted to do defensively as far as helping out. Offensively, I don’t think we were all on the same page with what we were supposed to do.”

Neither team was particularly “on” offensively as Becker committed 29 turnovers and Husson had 26.

Husson’s biggest lead was seven points and Becker’s six before the game settled into a tight game in which neither team led by more than three points in the last 13 minutes.

The game was tied 72-72 with 52 seconds before Karat’s winning shot, but the Eagles had at least two chances to tie. Crystal Martin was fouled on a 3-point shot with 11.2 seconds left but hit only one of three shots. Carmen Ballard got the rebound, but Becker’s Brittany Evans stole the ball away with seven seconds left and was fouled. Ballard missed the 1-and-1 free throw, but Holly Gracie’s off-balance, one-handed heave toward the hoop from the left wing with a second left was off the mark and Pion got the rebound.

Husson was led by McIntosh (16 points 13 rebounds, and three blocks) and Shelby Pickering, who had 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor and a game-high five steals.

Saturday’s men’s game was also decided in the paint as Husson’s frontcourt got Becker’s big men in early foul trouble. The Eagles’ defense was also big as they harassed Becker into 22 turnovers to Husson’s 10.

“We were very pleased with the intensity we came out with. We executed well defensively and you could feel a run was coming,” said coach Warren Caruso, whose Eagles are now 6-1. “We kind of wore them down and took some heart out of them in the first half and changed how they wanted to play.”

The Hawks looked shell-shocked as Husson took a 47-16 lead into halftime.

Senior forward Tyler Muzzy of Greenville and freshman center Martin Cleveland led Husson’s balanced attack with 16 points each plus seven and eight rebounds, respectively. Sheraud Lee and freshman Brock Bradford of Kenduskeag came off the bench for 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Jason Patterson was Becker’s only double-digit scorer with 11 off the bench. Terell Royal had nine boards.

HAWKS 75, EAGLES 73

Becker women (5-3) Husson (4-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pinak 5 6 1 4 11 Pickering 8 10 5 6 21

Arroyo 1 2 0 0 2 Martin 2 9 7

Evans 2 4 0 1 4 Ballard 2 8 6

Karat 8 18 2 4 23 Gracie 2 6 6

Pion 8 14 4 6 20 McIntosh 7 12 16

Fiske 0 0 0 0 0 Wickstrm 0 0

Crebase 5 9 0 0 11 Archer 1 4 2

Leeman 1 1 0 0 2 Merchant 4 9

Lawrence 1 2 0 0 2 Barden 0 2 0

Barnes 0 3 0 0

Rollins 3 7 0 6

Dow 0 1 0 0

Totals 31 56 7 15 75 Totals 29 69 10 17 73

Becker 38 75

Husson 41 73

3-pt. goals – Becker (6-13): Karat 5-11, Crebase 1-2; Husson (5-22): Gracie 2-5, Merchant 1-2, Martin 1-3, Ballard 1-5, Rollins 0-1, Wickstrom 0-1, Barden 0-2, Archer 0-3

Attendance: 176

EAGLES 87, HAWKS 48

Becker men (1-8) Husson (6-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Dobson 1 2 0 0 2 Matos 0 0 0

Valdivieso 0 0 2 2 2 Perras 1 2 3

Masmbuko 3 7 1 2 7 Meehan 0 3 2

Boivin 1 1 1 2 3 Bradford 4 10

Fuller 1 7 0 2 2 Kissinger 3 6

Rivers 2 5 0 0 4 Lee 4 10 12

Bowzer 0 1 0 0 0 Muzzy 7 10 16

Finnimore 1 3 2 4 4 Clevelnd 7 11 2 5 16

Small 2 3 0 0 5 Harvey 1 7 4

Russo 2 2 2 2 6 MacKnzie 0 0

Royal 0 6 0 1 0 Philbrook 2 5

Patterson 1 7 8 8 11 Cummngs 1 1 2

Offutt 1 1 0 0 2 Henry 1 1 2

Tripp 0 0 0 0

Kane 2 5 0 5

Puls 0 1 4 4

Hodges 0 0 0 0

Totals 15 45 16 23 48 Totals 33 72 14 25 87

Becker 16 48

Husson 47 87

3-pt. goals – Becker (2-11): Small 1-2, Patterson 1-3, Finnimore 0-1, Bowzer 0-1, Fuller 0-4; Husson (6-28): Bradford 2-7, Lee 2-7, Perras 1-2, Harvey 1-5, Meehan 0-1, Kane 0-1, Kissinger 0-5

Attendance: 400 (est.)