BANGOR – The Husson College men’s basketball team has had trouble putting teams away this season.

The Eagles had no such issues Friday night, as they parlayed some key halftime adjustments into a 20-9 second-half run to pull away for a 79-60 North Atlantic Conference victory over Wheelock (Mass.) College at Newman Gymnasium.

The Wildcats gave coach Warren Caruso’s club all it could handle early on, thanks to the inside play of center Sherard Robbins, who scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the first half as the visitors trailed by only 41-34 at intermission.

“Defensively, we felt we weren’t making them work hard enough in the first half,” Caruso said.

The 6-7 Eagles stepped up their defensive intensity after the break, clamping down on the 6-foot-5 Robbins by double-teaming him every trip down the floor.

“Coach talked about interior defense at halftime. We tried to clean it up, we thought we could play better,” said senior forward Nick Henry of Penobscot, who scored all nine of his points in the second half.

The Eagles weren’t exactly shooting well in the first half either, connecting on only 39 percent (15 for 38) of their field goal attempts, despite sound ball movement.

“We knew that we were getting looks, we were moving the ball well, [but] the shots just weren’t going down,” said sophomore guard Brock Bradford of Kenduskeag, who led all scorers with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

Husson then shifted its offense into attack mode after the half, as Bradford got things going with a breakaway layup while Scott Kissinger’s putback the next trip down the floor gave the hosts a 45-34 advantage.

Henry took over soon after, scoring seven points during the surge, including a conventional three-point play with 7:20 left to stretch the Eagles’ lead to 63-43.

Unlike in the first half, when the 1-13 Wildcats answered a 9-2 Husson run an 8-0 burst of their own, the Eagles’ defense clamped down and held Wheelock to eight field goals in the final 10 minutes.

“In the second half we made an early run and they never answered it,” Caruso said. “It was a solid job. I thought we played a consistent 40 minutes. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Once the Eagles picked up their intensity in their man-to-man defensive set, the Wildcats’ inside game was virtually nonexistent.

“We just tried to pick up the intensity on that set,” Henry said. “We wanted to take the ball out of [Robbins’] hands because we knew he could make plays.”

Despite Robbins’ inside presence, the Eagles controlled the glass, outrebounding Wheelock 47-22, including 20-6 on the offensive end.

Blaine Meehan, Matt MacKenzie and Henry wreaked havoc in the post, combining for 23 rebounds, while MacKenzie grabbed seven offensive rebounds.

MacKenzie finished with 15 points on a solid 5-of-12 shooting from the floor plus 5 of 9 on free throws.

“Matty’s done a nice job of developing his game. We’ve gained some confidence in him,” Caruso said.

Sheraud Lee connected for 13 points while Hampden native Meehan finished with eight.

Dan Puchala was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 14 points.

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EAGLES 79, WILDCATS 60

Wheelock (1-13) Husson (6-7)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Puchala 6 10 2 2 14 Meehan 2 5 8

Lynch 1 10 2 2 4 Bradford 7 12 0 0 19

Matos 1 4 0 0 2 Kissinger 2 8

Main 2 6 0 0 6 MacKnzie 5 12 15

Robbins 7 16 2 2 16 Lee 5 10 13

Tavares 2 3 1 2 6 Figueroa 2 5

Kramer 0 1 0 0 0 Perras 1 8 2

Dinuzzo 2 4 0 0 6 Cumings 0 0 0

Key 3 4 0 0 6 Puls 0 1 0 0

Rothman 0 0 0 0 0 Coffin 0 2 0

Henry 4 4 1 9

Totals 24 58 7 8 60 Totals 28 68 12 20 79

Wheelock 34 60

Husson 41 79

3-pt. goals – Wheelock (5-12): Puchala 0-1, Lynch 0-2, Main 2-2, Tavares 1-2, Kramer 0-1, Dinuzzo 2-4; Husson (11-32): Meehan 1-3, Bradford 5-8, Kissinger 2-6, Lee 3-7, Figueroa 0-2, Perras 0-4, Coffin 0-2

Attendance: 300 (est.)