NAC QUARTERFINAL: Husson 85, Johnson State 82

Bob Shedd John Foley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Junior forwards Bobby Shedd (left) and John Foley combined for 42 points and 21 rebounds in the Badgers 85-82 quarterfinal loss to Husson on Tuesday

 

Bangor, Maine (February 26, 2008)

 

Johnson State led for the first 32 minutes but eight second-half three-pointers propelled Husson College to the 85-82 North Atlantic Conference Quarterfinal win.

Johnson State finished their season with a 9-17 overall record and bow out in the NAC Quarterfinals for the second time in four seasons.

 

The West Division #4 seed raced to 25-17 lead with 7:27 remaining in the first half following a pair of Bobby Shedd (Johnson, Vt./Lamoille Union) free throws.  The East Division #1 seed would cut the lead to one at the four minute mark on a step-through bank shot by sophomore center Matt MacKenzie (Warren, Maine/Medomak Valley) at 29-28.

 

The Badgers would go on a 11-2 surge to push the lead to 39-30 but the Eagles' Brock Bradford (Kenduskeag, Maine/Bangor Christian) was fouled shooting a three-point field goal with :22 remaining an converted all three free throw attempts for a 39-33 halftime JSC halftime lead.

 

The underdog Badgers came out of the locker room with even more fire going on a 11-6 spurt ended by a Husson timeout following a Charlie Viana (Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream South) dish to Shedd for a lay up in transition.

 

Husson would score the next seven points and the margin would bounce between four and eight points for several minutes until Scott Kissinger (Islip Terrace, N.Y./East Islip) buried a three-pointer from the corner to cut the JSC lead to one with 11:42 to play.

 

Again Johnson State would dig in and maintain a lead behind dynamic offensive play by senior point guard Chris Lamica (Averill Park, N.Y./Averill Park) who would finish with a game-high eight assists on the night and found Shedd and junior John Foley (Valley Stream, N.Y./Holy Cross) for scores throughout the night.

 

Husson would take their first lead of the night when senior wing Sheraud Lee (Bridgeport, Conn./Koble-Cathedral) canned a three-pointer from the corner to make it 68-67 with 7:14 to play.

 

A Bradford three-pointer would push the Husson lead to eight with 4:48 left by JSC was not done.  A Viana triple, followed by a Lamica three, and Foley jump shot made for an 8-0 run that tied the game with 2:32 remaining in the game.

 

Bradford connected on a 12-foot baseline jumper to give Husson the lead for good and then would hit four free throws down the stretch, going 10-for-10 in the game, to seal the victory.

 

Johnson State would get one more chance down three with :01 remaining after a pair of Bradford free throws but a long pass to opposite three-point arc was intercepted and time ran out.

 

The junior forward duo of Shedd and Foley were tremendous throughout the contest with Foley scoring a team-high 23 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds while Shedd scored 19 points and hauled down 10 rebounds.  Viana scored 16 points while hitting 4-of-8 three-point field goals.  Lamica added 14 points and a game-high eight assists.

 

Bradford was phenomenal throughout the contest for Husson scoring a game-high 36 points, handing out five assists with out a turnover, grabbing six rebounds, and hitting all 10 of his free throw attempts.  Lee hit 4-of-8 three pointers en route to 14 points and MacKenzie added 11 points for the Eagles.

 

Husson moves on to the semifinal round on Friday at Elms College where they will play Lesley University at 8:00 pm.

 

The game was the final one for a pair of JSC seniors in Viana and Lamica.  The backcourt had outstanding senior campaigns and very productive careers in JSC uniforms and will be sorely missed.  Viana holds many Badgers career, season, and single-game records and Lamica was one of top point guards the college has seen.