BANGOR — Andrew Dickey hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key as time expired to lift the UMaine-Farmington Beavers to a 67-64 men’s basketball victory over the Husson University Eagles in a North Atlantic Conference game at Newman Gym.
UMF’s Kevin Leary hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to put the Beavers up by three, but Husson answered when Mike Gonzales drained three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt with four seconds left.
Pet Sumner and Leary each scored 14 points to lead 8-1 UMF while Dan Kane added 13 points and eight assists, including the pass on the game-winner. Ben Johnson chipped in with 12 points and nine rebounds.
Eric Modica paced 5-10 Husson with 17 points and Gonzales added 12, including 6 of 7 from he line. Marc Zaharchuk contributed a double-double, 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Women’s basketball
Husson 70, UMF 58
At Husson’s Newman Gym in Bangor, the Eagles hit 46 percent of their shots from the field and improved to 8-6 while UMaine-Farmington dipped to 4-10.
Brianna Hanscom paced the Eagles with 14 points and seven rebounds. Stephanie Comstock chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds while Kelli Murray added 10 points.
Emma Morrison led UMF with 16 points, including hitting 10 of 10 shots from the line. Lindsay Ranquist contributed 11 points while Paige Saunders recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
UNE 63, Endicott 59
At Biddeford, Kari Pelletier converted a conventional three-point play with 1:10 left to play to rally the University of New England past Endicott College.
Margo Russell paced 11-3 UNE with 14 points while Beth Suggs contributed 12 points, six rebounds and five assists. Kelly Paradis added 10 points.
Samantha Crough led 9-6 Endicott with 18 points and Jennifer White added 15.
Tennessee 65, LSU 56
At Knoxville, Tenn., LSU coach Nikki Caldwell knew her team took a tough blow losing two starting guards in the first half against No. 9 Tennessee. The Lady Tigers still managed to minimize the losses for most of the second half but just couldn’t close out the game in honor of their teammates.
Jeanne Kenney left in the first two minutes with a probable concussion, while Destini Hughes seriously injured her right leg in the 65-56 loss on Thursday night.
“We definitely want to make sure that we continue to compete and continue to play because Destini was out, Jeanne Kenney was out. We wanted to make sure we played this game in a way that they would play,” LSU coach Nikki Caldwell said. “If this team can fight and play like they did most of the game, I feel like we can be in any game there is against anybody in the country.”
The game pit Caldwell against her mentor and former coach, Pat Summitt. Caldwell won three combined national titles as a player and assistant coach at Tennessee and has mimicked Summitt’s defensive focus at both UCLA and LSU.
Their teams matched up well for much of the game. The score was tied 11 times and the teams traded the lead six times before Cierra Burdick hit a tiebreaking jumper with 6:22 left that put the Lady Volunteers ahead for good, 51-49.
On the next possession, Vicki Baugh rebounded a missed 3-pointer by Bianca Lutley, who filled in at point guard after Kenney and Hughes’ injuries, and Meighan Simmons hit a layup on the break. Tennessee got two more transition baskets in the final three minutes and padded its lead with free throws, despite an uncharacteristic 18-of-31 performance from the line.
Meanwhile, the Lady Tigers only hit one more shot from the floor during the final stretch, a jumper by Adrienne Webb that made it 62-56 with 1:27 left.
Courtney Jones led LSU (13-5, 4-2) with 16 points, and Webb scored 12.
“Coming in to play against Tennessee, you’re always really hyped up and ready to play,” LSU forward Theresa Plaisance said. “You just need to be mentally ready and physically ready to come in.”
Hughes injured her knee trying to catch and shoot off a long pass 3 seconds before halftime. She was tended to by trainers from both teams and taken off the floor in a wheelchair and was expected to undergo an X-ray and an MRI after returning to Baton Rouge.
Simmons scored 19 points, Burdick had 15 points, Glory Johnson added 10 points and Baugh grabbed 14 rebounds for Tennessee, which shot 42.9 percent in the second half compared to 34.5 percent by LSU.
“We didn’t need (Simmons) or Cierra to be a liability on the defensive end,” Tennessee associate head coach Holly Warlick said. “Those two young ladies have stepped up. They’ve put in extra time, and I think it showed tonight.”
The Lady Vols (14-4, 5-1 Southeastern Conference) won even without leading scorer Shekinna Stricklen, whose streak of 121 consecutive starts ended because of a sprain to her right knee suffered Sunday against Vanderbilt. They’ve been without guard Taber Spani, who has been sidelined with a bone bruise in her left knee since Dec. 26.
Simmons has stepped up her offense in Spani’s absence, and Tennessee turned to Burdick to help fill in for Stricklen, who was averaging 15.5 points. Before facing LSU, Burdick was playing just under 12 minutes per game but stayed on the floor for 31 minutes against the Lady Tigers.
Tennessee briefly lost Johnson, who hurt her left shoulder after colliding with another player on a rebound a few minutes before halftime. Johnson headed to the locker room immediately but returned early in the second half, playing with a compression sleeve on the shoulder.
“Obviously it was a knock-down drag out type fight, but it was a very competitive fight,” Caldwell said. “You saw two teams playing every possession like it was their last.”
The cumulative effect of the Lady Vols’ injuries could prove problematic. Tennessee heads to No. 2 Notre Dame on Monday night, and Warlick was unsure if Stricklen or Spani would be available for the game.
“I’ll be fine on Monday,” Johnson said. “I’ll make sure.”