POULTNEY, Vt. – Two back-to-back three-pointers by Husson's Mitch Worcester thwarted any plan Green Mountain had for a comeback as the Bangor, Maine Eagles defeated the Poultney, Vermont Eagles 69-52 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) men's basketball action on Friday night at the Eagle Dome.
Husson (5-1, 3-0 NAC) benefitted from Raheem Anderson scoring six-straight points to open the game to take an early advantage over the hosts. Raheem's sixth point also marked the senior guard scoring his 2,000th career point.
Green Mountain (3-5, 1-3 NAC) battled back on a Matt Hess and-one play to take a 7-6 lead at the 16:15 mark of the first half.
The visitors followed that by immediately going on a 9-0 run capped by a Cole Thomas layup to surge ahead 15-7 at the 12:04 mark. Husson held that eight-point cushion for the majority of the remainder of the half extending it to 12 just before the end of the period.
Anderson's eight points led all scorers in the opening stanza while GMC had Hess, Tyrell Johnson and Duane Goodman, Jr. with five points each.
The teams battled back and forth to open the second half. A made jumper by GMC's Sean Leflore cut the deficit to 47-37 with 12:16 remaining in the game and the crowd started urging on the home siders. Husson's Mitch Worcester, however, rallied the visitors with back-to-back threes in the span of a minute to help build a 65-48 advantage and essentially seal the game.
GMC did well to limit Anderson, the NAC's leading scorer, to just 18 points, but he also grabbed eight points and dished out a pair of assists to help in the victory. Kyanti Blyden notched nine points and a team-high eight rebounds while also recording three steals. Corey Kaiser led the Husson reserves with seven points.
De Shaun Carr led the home side with 11 points and eight rebounds. Matt Hess led all rebounders by grabbing 11 caroms in addition to his seven points. Jacob Plum scored eight points and grabbed five boards after being inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season. Johnson also got his first career start and added seven points. Leflore topped the hosts' bench with six points and seven rebounds.
Green Mountain continued its strong showing on the boards outrebounding Husson 49-44. It still struggled to limit the turnovers and it costs the hosts as Husson generated 13 points off of miscues. Husson's bench outscored GMC's by a 26-1 margin.
Both teams will take to the hardwood again tomorrow afternoon starting at 3 pm. Husson will head down the road to visit Castleton, while Green Mountain will square off against Maine Maritime.
