After watching his team struggle through its last seven games with a 3-4 record and two players choose to leave the program during the first semester, Husson College men’s basketball coach Bruce MacGregor hoped most of the adversity his Braves would face this season was behind them.

It turns out there’s some adversity in front of the Braves as well.

Husson will open the second semester portion of the schedule this weekend at the University of New Brunswick-Saint John Tournament with backup center Jake Dragutinovic suspended for six games for a disciplinary violation.

In addition, freshman guard Shawn Thayer’s injured knee continues to bother him, which means he will likely be redshirted. And top scorer Raymond Alley is nursing a severe case of the flu.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” summarized MacGregor, whose team is 8-5 overall, 6-1 in NAIA District 5 play.

Despite the loss of backup guards Victor Garay and Tommy Lynch, who left the team of their own accord, and Thayer’s probable redshirting, MacGregor feels Husson has enough guard depth to get through the remainder of the season and beyond, provided junior Bobby Campbell’s chronic back problem doesn’t flare up.

The area MacGregor wants his team to work on beginning in Canada is getting 6-foot-8 senior center Brian Burrell more involved in the offense. Burrell is averaging 14.7 points and 6.8 rebounds, but isn’t touching the ball often enough in the half-court offense in the coach’s estimation.

“We want to spread the floor a little more,” said MacGregor Monday. “We were too congested and didn’t have enough spacing in a lot of our games. We want to work on our spacing and get the ball to Brian more. We want to take better advantage of his abilities.”

MacGregor said he also wants the Braves to sharpen their transition game.

“We’re going to look to run a little more,” he said.

The portable hardwood floor for the newly renovated Alfond Arena on which the University of Maine will play basketball is scheduled to be delivered Jan. 7, bringing the $3.6 million privately funded project one step closer to completion.

According to Anne McCoy, UM’s assistant athletic director for finance, the maple and pine floor made by Horner Flooring Company of Dollar Bay, Mich., has a price tag of $63,500. It will operate on an interlocking system with no tools required for assembly (and disassembly).

The paint job includes blue lanes, and a blue center circle, with “Maine” and “Black Bears” printed along the baselines. The familiar growling bear’s head logos and a new Harold Alfond Sports Arena logo will decorate the floor near the hashmarks.

The floor will have insulation attached underneath which, coupled with the prefit subflooring, will permit the basketball floor to sit on the ice for several days without affecting the ice surface.

The floor will be stored in a special storage area located under the stands where the former public entrance to the arena used to be.

According to UM officials, the scheduled opening basketball game at the new facility remains Jan. 17 when the UM men take on Drexel of Philadelphia.

Todd Smith of Howland, a senior at Thomas College in Waterville, was recently named to both the 1991 All-NAIA District 5 and All-Maine men’s soccer teams. A striker, Smith led the Terriers with 11 goals and seven assists over a 9-9 campaign which saw Thomas make the playoffs for the third straight year. Smith is an accounting major.