USM Men's Basketball
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************************************************************************ Thursday, December 3, 1998 USM Huskies Improve to 5-0, Best Start Since 1987-88 GORHAM, Maine -- Senior Mike Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) and sophomore Rodney Broussard (Casco, Maine/Channel Beach, NY) combined to score 45 points and lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 68-44 win over the visiting University of New England Nor'easters in men's college basketball action Thursday night at the Warren G. Hill Gymnasium. The win improves the Huskies record to 5-0 overall. It is USM's best start since the 1987-88 team opened the season 8-0. UNE slips to 1-4. Fennessy poured in 19 first half points, including five three-pointers, as the Huskies built a 12-point halftime lead. A basket by sophomore Josh Mathieu (Kennebunk, Maine) broke a 23-23 tie, and Fennessy added a pair of three-point baskets to give the Huskies a 31-25 edge. After UNE senior Mike McCarthy (Kennebunk, Maine) scored to pull the Nor'easters within four (31-27), Broussard scored five points, and junior Kris Brown (Gorham, Maine) added another three-pointer to give the Huskies their 12-point lead at the half. UNE got within seven midway through the second half when junior Steve Huntington (Portland, Maine) hit a three-pointer, but the Nor'easters only scored three points over the final nine minutes. Fennessy finished with a game-high 25 points while Broussard added 20 points and a game- high nine rebounds. McCarthy was the lone Nor'easter in double figures with 10 points. UNE was unable to take advantage of some poor USM shooting in the second half as the Nor'easters hit just 27 percent (6 of 22) of its shots after the break. ************************************************************************ Tuesday, December 1, 1998 Huskies Shoot Down Bowdoin, 93-78 BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Senior Mike Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine/Bridgton Academy) scored a game-high 28 points, including 18 in the second half, and teammates Rodney Broussard (Casco, Maine/Channel Beach, N.Y.) and Bryan Hill (Sanford, Maine) contributed career highs of 25 and 15 points, respectively, to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 93-78 win over the Bowdoin College Polar Bears in men's college basketball action at Morrell Gymnasium Tuesday night. The win improves the Huskies overall mark to 4-0. It is the first time since the 1987-88 season that the Huskies have won their first four games. Bowdoin slips to 2-2. Broussard broke a 46-46 tie with a three-point basket early in the second half to put the Huskies ahead for good. The 6-foot-2 guard made eight of nine shots, including a pair of three- pointers, from the floor and seven of eight from the line. Hill was seven for nine from the floor on the way to establishing a new career high, and he also shared team-high rebounding honors with Broussard as each grabbed eight. Hugh Coleman (Boston, Mass.) paced three Polar Bears in doubles figures with 22 points. Nate Houser (Medway, Mass./Xaverian) hit seven three-pointers for his 21 points, and David Lovely (Milton, Mass./B.C. High)added 15 points and grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds. ************************************************************************ Tuesday, November 24, 1998 Southern Maine Huskies Top Thomas, 75-55 GORHAM, Maine -- The University of Southern Maine Huskies used a big second half to stretch a one-point half-time lead into a 75-55 victory over the visiting Thomas College Terriers in a non-league men's college basketball game Tuesday night at the Warren G. Hill Gymnasium. The win improves the Huskies overall record to 3-0. It is the first time since the 1992-93 season that the Huskies have won their first three games of the season. Thomas slips to 2-3. The win was the Huskies second over the Terriers in the last five days. Junior Ryan Cilley (Woodland,. Maine) and sophomore Matt Pitcher (Newport, Maine) kept the visitors close in the first half scoring 22 of the Terriers' 34 points. Thomas shot 52 percent (14 of 27) in the half to keep things interesting. The teams traded the lead a number of times in the half before the Huskies went on top for good on two free throws by senior Mike Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine) with 3:19 left until the break. The Huskies used a balanced attack in the second half to wear down the Terriers and slowly pulled away. Some poor shooting over the last seven minutes hurt the Terriers' chances of pulling out a victory. Thomas scored only two points during the final 7:34 after pulling within four points (57-53) on a three-point basket by Pitcher. Fennessy led all scorers with 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots. Senior Bryan Hill (Sanford, Maine) had 13 points and seven rebounds, and sophomore Rodney Broussard (Casco, Maine) chipped in 10 points for the Huskies. Pitcher finished the night with 18 points and a game-high six assists, to lead Thomas. Cilley, who scored only two points in the second half, had 15 points. ************************************************************************ Saturday, November 21, 1998 MVP Fennessy Leads Huskies to UMF Tournament Crown FARMINGTON, Maine -- Senior forward Mike Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine) scored 20 points and brought home the most outstanding player award after leading the University of Southern Maine Huskies to an 83-73 victory over the host University of Maine at Farmington Beavers in the championship game of the Hight Chevrolet/UMaine Farmington Men's Basketball Tournament Saturday afternoon. The win improves the Huskies record to 2-0 on the season while UMF drops to 1-1. In the earlier third place game, Thomas College beat up on Johnson and Wales College, 89-53. Southern Maine will host Thomas in the Huskies home opener next Tuesday night (November 24). Leading by just two points (43-41) at the intermission, the Huskies outscored the Beavers 21-9 over the first eight-and-a-half minutes of the second half to take command. Fennessy had eight points and sophomore Rodney Broussard (Casco, Maine/Channel Beach HS [NY]) tossed in six during the run. Some clutch free throw shooting over the final eight minutes by Broussard and junior Corey Zimmerman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) never allowed the hosts to get closer than seven points (66- 59 with 9:48 to play) the rest of the way. Zimmerman was eight-for-eight and Broussard was five-of- six from the charity stripe in the second half. Broussard finished with 18 points and Zimmerman contributed 13 points and a game-high eight assists. The Beavers were led by Brian Regan and Jared Rivers each who had 18 points. Darren Meader added 14. Named to the all-tournament team were Broussard and Zimmerman of Southern Maine, Meader and Rivers from UMF, and Scott Raymond of Thomas College. ************************************************************************ Friday, November 20, 1998 Huskies Win Season Opener at UMF Tournament FARMINGTON, Maine -- Senior forward Mike Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine) poured in a game-high 25 points, including five three-point baskets, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 74-57 victory over the Thomas College Terriers in first round action of the Hight Chevrolet/UMaine Farmington Men's Basketball Tournament Friday night. The win moves the Huskies into Saturday's championship game against UMF which beat Johnson and Wales College in the other first round game. Thomas will play Johnson and Wales in the third place game prior to the championship game. Fennessy scored 15 first half points to lead a balanced Husky attack that helped USM build a 23-point margin at the break (48-25). Sophomore Wade Millett (East Waterboro, Maine) chipped in with all nine of his points on three three-point baskets, and senior Mike Ellerbrook (Northampton, Mass.) and junior Corey Zimmerman (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) each contributed eight. Ellerbrook finished with 13 points and Zimmerman ended up with 10 points and a game-high five assists. Thomas was led by sophomore Scott Raymond (Caribou, Maine) with 14 points, junior A.J. Cloukey (Presque Isle, Maine) with 12 and a team-high seven rebounds, and junior Ryan Cilley (Woodland, Maine) with 10 points. The two teams will meet again next Tuesday (November 24) in USM's home opener at the Warren G. Hill Gymnasium. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ************************************************************************ Monday, November 16, 1998 Ellerbrook, Fennessy and Hill Named USM Men's Basketball Captains GORHAM, Maine -- The senior trio of Mike Ellerbrook, Mike Fennessy and Bryan Hill of the University of Southern Maine Huskies men's basketball team have been named captains for the upcoming 1998-99 season. Head coach Dan Costigan made the announcement. The Huskies open their 1998-99 season this weekend (Friday-Saturday, November 20-21) when they travel to Farmington, Maine, to take part in the UMaine Farmington Tournament. The Huskies will match up with Thomas College in the first round. The host Beavers will take on Johnson and Wales College in the other first round game. The Huskies play their home opener the following Tuesday (November 24) night when they host Thomas. Ellerbrook (Northampton, Mass.) is a fourth-year player who was the team's captain last year. The 6-foot-1 guard averaged 8.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 24 games, and dished out a team-high 82 assists, last season. Fennessy (Lewiston, Maine) made an immediate impact upon returning to action at mid- season last year after being out of school for five years. The 6-foot-4 forward led the team in scoring and rebounding averaging 19.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 16 games. He was named to the All- Little East first team and the All-ECAC and All-State second teams. Hill (Sanford, Maine) is a fifth-year senior forward who averaged 3.5 points and 3.2 rebounds in 24 games last season. "Bryan is the most vocal of my three captains. He's constantly talking when he's on the floor. He's worked very hard, he plays within himself, and he's in the best physical condition of his career," commented third-year head coach Dan Costigan. "Michael Ellerbrook is a fourth-year player and a two-time captain. He's been through a lot and sacrificed a lot for this program during his first three years, often times playing out of position. He's the one that makes sure everyone is working, and no one works harder than him. "(Fennessy) is the veteran player who leads by example. He doesn't say much, but when he does speak up, everyone listens." The remainder of the Huskies 1998-99 schedule is as follows: Dec. 1, at Bowdoin; Dec. 3, University of New England; Dec. 5, UMass Dartmouth; Dec. 9, at Colby; and Dec. 12, at Eastern Connecticut. Also Jan. 2-3, at Franklin and Marshall Tournament; Jan. 9, Western Connecticut.; Jan. 12, at Rhode Island College; Jan. 16, at Keene State; Jan. 19, Plymouth State; Jan. 21, at Bates; Jan. 23, at UMass Dartmouth; Jan. 26, UMass Boston; and Jan. 30, Eastern Connecticut. Feb. 3, St. Joseph's (ME); Feb. 6, at Western Connecticut; Feb. 9, at Plymouth State; Feb. 13, Rhode Island College; Feb. 16, at UMass Boston; and Feb. 20, Keene State. Dates for the Little East Conference Tournament are first round games at four on-campus sites on February 23, followed by the semifinals and finals February 26-27 at the site of the highest remaining seed.