Box Score CASTINE, MAINE -- Maine Maritime Academy started the game with an 18 point lead and fended off Husson's comeback aspirations in the second half, to escape with 53-51 win in a North Atlantic Conference men's basketball game Tuesday. The Mariners earned their first win of the season and sit at 1-4 overall, 1-0 NAC while the Eagles fell to 1-3, 0-1.
Andy Ball recorded a double-double for MMA with 11 points and 11 rebounds and Ben Russell added 10 points. Marc Zaharchuk scored a game-high 16 points for Husson and Brooke Spaulding finished with nine points and eight rebounds.
Four of the Mariners starters scored points in the opening four minutes to take a 12-0 lead. Paul Campbell scored four and Ball, Tyler Chiasson, Logan Poirier and Shawn Silva all netted a pair of points for MMA. A pair of Russell free throws gave the Mariners a 20 point, 23-3, lead at 9:25 in the first and MMA would lead by as much as 25 before taking a 36-13 lead into the break.
Husson slowly chipped away at the Mariners lead in the second half beginning at the 15:18 mark with MMA holding a 42-21 lead. The Eagles scored 12 unanswered points in the next five minutes to cut their deficit to nine, 42-33. Zaharchuk scored six points in the run for Husson, Eric Modica added three, Aaron Willis two and Spaulding one.
MMA increased its lead to 10, 48-38, on a pair of Chiasson free throws at 7:19 before Eagles put together an 11-3 scoring run to close the gap to two, 51-49, with 2:02 left in the game. Brad Reed converted a pair of free throws to put MMA ahead 53-49 before Zaharchuk matched him with a pair of his own to make 53-51 with 48 seconds left. Willis had a chance to send the game into overtime but his layup attempt rimmed out as time expired.
The Mariners return to action Friday hosting Green Mountain at 7:30 p.m.
MAINE MARITIME 53, HUSSON 51
HUSSON (1-3)
Marc Zaharchuk 4-6 8-10 16; Brooks Spaulding 3-6 3-6 9; Eric Cottonham 1-7
2-3 5; Jacob Moore 1-8 2-4 5; Aaron Willis 0-3 3-4 3; Eric Modica 1-9 1-1 3;
Wes Murphy 1-6 0-0 3; Jon Klages 1-3 0-0 2; Corey Wood 1-5 0-0 2; Phil
Leighton 1-1 0-1 2; Trevon Butler 0-0 1-2 1; Daniel Fleming 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 14-55 20-31 51.
MAINE MARITIME (1-4)
Hatch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-49 18-24 53.
Husson........................ 13 38 - 51
Maine Maritime................ 36 17 - 53
3-point goals--Husson 3-21 (Eric Cottonham 1-6; Jacob Moore 1-4; Wes Murphy
1-5; Eric Modica 0-4; Jon Klages 0-1; Aaron Willis 0-1), Maine Maritime 1-10
out--Husson-Eric Cottonham; Wes Murphy, Maine Maritime-Shawn Silva; Logan
Poirier. Rebounds--Husson 43 (Brooks Spaulding 8), Maine Maritime 38 (Andy
Ball 11). Assists--Husson 4 (Aaron Willis 2), Maine Maritime 5 (Ben Russell
2). Total fouls--Husson 20, Maine Maritime 24. Technical fouls--Husson-None,
Maine Maritime-None.
