Trevon Butler, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 D3hoops.com Classic, continues to be the man that sparks the Husson Eagles. Husson athletics photo

The motto for Husson men’s basketball is ‘do more.’

With four games remaining on their current slate, the Eagles – led by head coach Warren Caruso – follow the ‘one game’ at a time adage, while trying to improve every day.

“Every season is a process of learning about your team, developing strengths and identifying weaknesses,” said Caruso, who is in his 28th season with the Eagles.

‘Do more’ has been the rallying cry behind 16 wins this winter, including 12 North Atlantic Conference victories. Most recently, Husson scored an important win, defeating defending conference champion Colby-Sawyer for the second time this season with an 88-77 victory last month.

“Our game with Colby-Sawyer had a ‘big game’ atmosphere and we liked how our guys responded,” said Caruso. “We had a good week last week, but need to keep improving each week to be playing our best basketball as we head into the home stretch.”

Husson enters the ‘home stretch’ with a trio of road games, beginning with a Friday evening affair against Green Mountain followed by a trip the following day to Castleton. The Eagles’ lone home contest occurs the following week when they entertain Thomas before capping the regular season with a visit to Maine-Farmington on Saturday, Feb. 20.

The goal for Caruso’s Eagles – not just this season, but also every year – is to compete for a title. Since the 2003-04 school year, Husson has captured a quartet of NAC championships, including their most recent title in 2014. Husson won 26 games that season and advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.

Said Caruso, “This team is very similar to the 2014 (squad), but might be better in some spots. We want to keep getting better every week and put ourselves in a position to make a run at the NAC title and advance to the NCAA’s.”

While Caruso claims the team hasn’t faced too many hurdles this season, the Eagles did drop a pair of non-conference tilts against UMass Dartmouth and Bates at the end of the first semester. Both games provided the Eagles with motivation to ‘do more’ and since then Husson has won 12 of 14 contests.

“The early-season losses to Bates and UMass Dartmouth helped us develop as a team,” said Caruso. “We had some new pieces in our rotation to start the year and as those guys developed we have improved as the year has gone on.

“Aside from dealing with a couple of early injuries and developing chemistry, we have not dealt with a great deal of challenges this season.”

Husson boasts a trio of first-year players and one senior, Trevon Butler, who Caruso considers ‘our leader.’ Butler leads the squad with 22 points per game and 7.3 rebounds.

“We feed off his energy on both ends of the floor,” Caruso said of Butler. “He is having a great senior season and keeps raising his level of play as the season progresses. He makes us go and effects the game in multiple ways.”

In addition to Butler, freshman Justin Martin has enjoyed an impressive rookie season, averaging 5.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. He has posted 10 points in five games, while registering 11 rebounds or more in three contests.

“Justin keeps progressing every week,” said Caruso. “As he has progressed his minutes have increased and we have played better. He is a tremendous rebounder and is one of our top defenders. He is a key to our success heading down the stretch.”

Husson has also received multiple contributions from junior Raheem Anderson (21.5 points per game and 3.9 rebounds per game) and sophomore Darryl Wood (3.8 rebounds per game). As a team, Husson is second in the NAC in points per game (88.5) and third in rebounds per game (40.0).

“This team is very low key and approaches things with a very businesslike mentality,” said Caruso. “They love the game and care about each other. This group is driven to do something special and we have used the saying ‘do more’ (to help motivate the squad) to get better every day, (both) individually and as a team.”

With a ‘do more’ mentality, Husson is in position to extend its season beyond February into March, but Caruso did stress these final games are crucial for the Eagles’ success beyond the final regular season buzzer.

“We remind the guys to ‘play in the moment’ and that every game is an opportunity to get better and prepare for the stretch run,” said Caruso. “As a program, we are used to being near the top of the standings and have expectations to compete for a championship.” 

Northeast regional clippings

The Tufts women’s basketball team halted Amherst’s 121-home-game winning streak this past weekend, defeating the Purple and White on the road by a score of 52-51. Tufts moves into first place in the NESCAC with the win. Tufts boasts a 9-0 league ledger; while Amherst is second at 7-1 and Bowdoin third at 6-2 … Joey Flannery registered a season-best 41 points as Babson claimed an important double-overtime victory against WPI. The Beavers currently occupy the top spot in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference NEWMAC, while MIT sits a spot behind them at 8-2 in league play … Newbury freshman Savannah Olsen was tabbed this week’s NECC Rookie of the Week for the third time after averaging 20 points in a pair of contests last week … The Western Connecticut State women’s basketball extended its current winning streak to five games as the Colonials rallied past UMass Dartmouth for a crucial LEC road victory on Saturday. Western Connecticut outscored the Corsairs in the second half, 46-28, while receiving 11 points; eight defensive rebounds, seven assists and one steal from Kerri Stolle … UMass Boston men’s basketball earned a dramatic win against Rhode Island College on Saturday, claiming their first win against the Anchorman since the 2008 season. It was also first-year head coach Jason Harris’s initial win against his alma mater … The Castleton women’s basketball team captured its sixth-straight win as the Spartans defeated Maine-Farmington by a score of 59-38. Castleton currently sits a spot below Husson in the NAC. … The Nichols men have won 10 consecutive contests with their most recent victory occurring on Saturday as the Bison defeated Western New England on the road by a score of 95-89.