Bradford leads Eagles past Clippers Husson effort to achieve offensive balance paying off

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BANGOR – One of Husson College men’s basketball coach Warren Caruso’s biggest concerns this season was replacing all the inside scoring and rebounding lost to graduation and offseason transfers.

Friday night at Newman Gymnasium, his Eagles showed they didn’t need much of either one, although that didn’t stop them from showing they can still crash the boards and get production in the paint.

The Eagles seared the netting with 64.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half and 53.7 for the game en route to an emphatic 93-60 victory over the University of Maine-Machias.

Husson, now 2-1, didn’t fare any worse from long distance as it shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half and 41.4 percent for the game.

“We have a lot of depth and everyone we put out on the floor can shoot the 3,” Caruso said. “We know that’s a strength, but the thing we have to do is play with balance and that’s something we’ve worked on.”

It showed Friday. The Eagles outrebounded UMM 17-14 offensively and 38-32 overall.

“We still don’t want to forget about our inside play either on the post or with dribble penetration,” said Caruso. “I think that’s something we did better in the second half, and I think that’s one reason why we shot better.”

About the only thing the Eagles didn’t shoot very well was free throws as they hit only nine of 18.

Guard Brock Bradford of Kenduskeag led the shooting assault for Husson with 9-for-13 shooting and a game-high 23 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and five steals.

“We felt at times we haven’t been as patient on offense, getting a good look when we could get a better look four or five passes from now,” Bradford said. “Now we’re really starting to come together as a team, sharing the ball and playing unselfishly.”

Fellow sophomore Matt McKenzie, a forward from Warren, and senior guard Sheraud Lee chipped in with 15 points apiece. Lee, who came off the bench, also pulled down a team-leading eight rebounds.

Senior forward Anthony McCoy led the 3-5 UMM Clippers with 16 points. He also had seven rebounds and three steals. After getting four offensive boards in the first half, he had just two in the second.

“He was tough on the boards, so we called timeout and stressed getting him off the boards because he was the one killing us,” said McKenzie. “After that timeout, I thought we did a good job doing that.”

Eric Righter had 14 points and nine rebounds and Noah Buehner added 13 points and six boards.

The Eagles – specifically Bradford – held UMM leading scorer Charlie Calligan of Manchester to eight points.

“He’d been averaging 30 points a game the last two games and we always tried to have a hand in his face,” McKenzie said. “Brock did a great job on him.”

Conversely, Husson’s hot shooting was shredding the Clippers’ defense.

“We kind of run a different little zone scheme and I think at times we confused ourselves,” said Clippers coach Brac Brady. “Also, when you have multiple guys who can knock down the 3, it makes it more difficult to play the type of defense we like to play.

“They did a better job than we did making adjustments.”

The game was the Eagles’ first in two weeks as they took a long Thanksgiving break.

“Everything felt right for us going into this game and after our first weekend, we kind of needed something like this to build on,” Caruso said.

EAGLES 93, CLIPPERS 60

UM-Machias (3-5) Husson (2-1)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Righter 6 11 2 4 14 Meehan 3 6 8

Buehner 5 12 2 4 13 Bradford 9 13 2 2 23

Calligan 3 9 0 0 8 Kissinger 2 4

Pearce 2 6 0 2 4 MacKnzie 6 15

McCoy 7 11 2 3 16 Kane 1 3 3

Kirby 0 1 0 0 0 Figueroa 3 7

Skillings 0 2 1 2 1 Perras 2 4 7

Mauro 2 4 0 2 4 Hodges 0 1 0

Jardine 0 0 0 0

Cummngs 1 2 0 2

Philbrick 0 0 0

Lee 5 8 3 15

Jennings 1 2 2

Henry 3 8 0 7

Totals 25 56 7 17 60 Totals 36 67 18 93

UM-Machias 28 60

Husson 42 93

3-pt. goals – UM-Machias (3-11): Calligan 2-6, Buehner 1-1, Kirby 0-1, Skillings 0-1, Righter 0-1, Pearce 0-1; Husson (12-29): Bradford 3-7, Meehan 2-3, Perras 2-4, Lee 2-5, Kane 1-2, Henry 1-1, Figueroa 1-3, Cummings 0-1, Kissinger 0-3

Attendance: 750 (est.)