NAC tourney features Maine colleges

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Maine will be well represented today when the North Atlantic Conference basketball championship tournaments begin at several sites.

Husson College of Bangor, Maine Maritime Academy of Castine and the University of Maine-Farmington each have qualified both their men’s and women’s teams for postseason, while Thomas College of Waterville also has put its women’s squad in the mix.

For the third straight season, Husson College and Elms College (Chicopee, Mass.) are the top men’s basketball seeds.

Elms, the West Division’s No. 1 seed, is the top seed overall by virtue of an eight-point victory over Husson in the teams’ only head-to-head matchup on Feb. 2. The Blazers have won 10 straight.

The 16-9 (10-3 NAC) Husson Eagles host No. 4 West seed Johnson State (9-16, 4-9) of Johnson, Vt., at 7:30 p.m. in Newman Gymnasium. Husson downed the Badgers 101-86 on Feb. 8, their only meeting.

“We had a solid game the one time we played and we look at the matchups as a good thing, but we still have to play a solid overall game,” said Husson coach Warren Caruso.

The Eagles, who have won nine of their last 11 games, started the season with a limited inside presence, but Caruso says things have changed over the course of the season.

“I think right now we’re playing our best basketball and I think a big reason is the development of Matt [MacKenzie] in the post,” Caruso said. “He’s gained confidence while giving us more options on the offensive end instead of just being perimeter-oriented.”

The sophomore forward from Warren is averaging 11 points and five rebounds per game. The Eagles are also paced by sophomore guard Brock Bradford of Kenduskeag (15.7 ppg, 5.0 assists, 1.7 steals), junior forward Scott Kissinger (10.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), and senior guard Sheraud Lee (14.7 ppg).

“The onus, I guess, is on the seniors to lead us, but I think the thing that has stood out since the second week of January is it really needs to be a team effort for us,” Caruso said. “We’re playing a nine-man rotation and we really need all nine to contribute. Our strength is in our balance and our numbers.”

The Mariners (10-13, 7-6) travel to play at West No. 2 Becker College in Leicester, Mass., also at 7:30 p.m.

They are led by senior forward Neil Stewart of Rangeley, who is one place behind Bradford (ninth) among NAC scorers with 14.9 ppg and third in rebounding with 8.9.

Junior guard Derek DiFrederico of Millinocket (13.6 ppg, 2.6 apg, 1.7 spg) is another key leader for the Mariners, along with senior forward Adam Haskell of Winslow (5.7 rpg), junior forward Jake Manner of Frankfort (5.0 rpg), and sophomore center Chad Paddock (4.8). MMA is the NAC’s top rebounding team with 35.3 per game.

In today’s other men’s quarterfinals, No. 2 East seed Lesley University (10-15, 8-5) of Cambridge, Mass., hosts Castleton State (Vt.) (15-10, 8-5) at 7 p.m. and Elms College of Chicopee, Mass., hosts No. 4 East seed UMaine-Farmington (11-14, 7-6) at 6 p.m.

“If you take Wheelock out of the equation, with them having their first year in the NAC, there’s a lot of parity among the other teams and it looks like a wide-open tournament,” Caruso said.

On the women’s side, coach Craig Dagan’s MMA Mariners (17-8) have earned the top seed in the East Division with a 13-2 NAC record. MMA, gunning for its fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth, plays host to Elms College (9-16, 6-9 NAC) of Chicopee, Mass., the No. 4 seed in the West, at 6 p.m. in Smith Gymnasium.

Coach Kissy Walker’s Husson squad (15-10, 11-3 NAC), the East No. 2 seed, entertains West No. 3 Johnson State (11-14, 7-8) in a 5:30 p.m. game.

In other women’s quarterfinals, West No. 1 Castleton State (18-7, 13-2) awaits West No. 4 Thomas (12-11, 6-8) at 6 p.m. and two-time defending conference champion UM-Farmington (11-12, 8-5), No. 3 in the East, travels to West No. 2 Becker (15-10, 9-6) at 5:30 p.m.

“There are four, maybe even five, teams that could win this thing,” said Dagan, pointing to the parity in the league generated by the graduation of numerous seniors in 2007.

Teams such as MMA and Husson have overcome their relative inexperience by improving steadily as the season has progressed.

“They’re no longer freshmen [experience-wise], but there are still some hurdles as far as playing their first playoff game and the expectations that go with that,” Dagan said. “There’s nothing a team is going to throw at them that they haven’t seen before.”

Tonight’s quarterfinal winners will be re-seeded, regardless of division, with the highest remaining seed earning the right to host the NAC semifinals and finals Friday and Saturday. The No. 1 teams play the No. 4 seeds, with Nos. 2 and 3 squaring off in the other semifinals.

Among the women, Castleton State goes into the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed by virtue of a head-to-head tiebreaker with MMA. The Spartans beat the Mariners 45-44 on Feb. 8 in Castine.

For the Mariners to host, they would have to win and have the Spartans lose. Husson would only host the final four if it won and both Castleton State and MMA lost.

The Husson women enter the tournament as the top scoring team, averaging 71.2 points per game on 41 percent shooting in NAC play. Junior forward Shelby Bradford leads the Eagles, averaging a league-best 17.2 points on 54 percent shooting, and 10.5 rebounds in conference games.

MMA ranks second in the NAC in both scoring (66.6 ppg) and scoring defense (49.1 ppg) in league games and leads all teams in rebounding margin (plus-10.3). Freshman forward Tatum Welch (8.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg) is the statistical leader.

UMF brings its traditional hard-pressing style with junior Erin Porter (10.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg) among the Beavers’ catalysts.

Thomas has surrendered a NAC-high 64.9 ppg, but has a solid base of experience led by Lea McNary (11.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg).

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