Scan Jason Mulligan's roster for the men's basketball team at the University of New England and one thing stands out: Texas.

Four of his top five scorers, and nine of 19 players, are from the Lone Star State.

They have helped the Nor'easters win eight consecutive games to improve to 9-3 as a contender for a Commonwealth Coast Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament.

"They all took a risk coming up to Maine," said Mulligan, in his second season as UNE coach. "A lot of them had never seen snow. The first snowfall, they were out making snow angels and running around like little kids."

Senior Johnnie Jefferson of Dallas, a 6-foot-4 forward, leads the Nor'easters with a scoring average of 15.5 points.

Jaykyri Simpson, a 6-3 senior guard from East Cleburne, just outside Dallas, ranks second with 12.4 points per game. He's followed by freshman Quentin Thompson, a 6-3 guard from Austin (9.8), and freshman Anthony Johnson (9.4), a 6-foot guard also from Austin.

How did all these Texans get to Maine? A little word of mouth.

When Mulligan was hired in 2007, UNE was coming off a 5-20 season. He inherited just four returning players and four incoming freshmen. Some days he needed his assistant coaches to play at practice just for a five-on-five scrimmage.

Mulligan had recruited Simpson while at Wabash College in Indiana before arriving at UNE. Simpson later agreed to attend UNE and called two of his buddies: Jefferson and Chas Rentrope of Peoria, Ariz., who also agreed to enroll there.

"Those three guys broke ground last year," said Mulligan.

It wasn't easy, said Simpson. He purposely missed his flight back to Maine the day after Christmas last winter, just to have one more day to decide if he could handle returning. UNE is not a model of diversity, he said, and as a black student from a region with a very different climate, the transition was difficult.

"It was difficult for me but I know how to make a sacrifice," said Simpson. "At first I thought we were in a museum. People were walking around and looking at us. Now they accept us. It's not just Texas boys who hang with Texas boys."

Mulligan went on a recruiting trip to Texas last summer and added to the roster.

Each helped the next make his commitment, and though the transition has not been easy, the players are leaning on one another.

"Now these transfers and freshmen are going through the same thing," said Mulligan. "There's somebody who can tell them it's going to be OK."

UNE has not been known for its basketball prowess but already this season has beaten three teams from the New England Small College Athletic Conference: Tufts, Colby and Bates.

Before this season, UNE's record against NESCAC schools was 3-28 – three wins spanning 20 years.

UNE opens conference play on Saturday against New England College (2-7).

"We're hoping to have a nice streak here," said Mulligan. "They're all starting to become a family and get tight. They all feed off each other."

Thompson said he looked forward to the opportunity to come to a school so far away from home.

"It doesn't snow much in Texas," said Thompson. "Being away from home and (in) the cold weather doesn't really bother me now. And as a team, every single person is falling into place. We're becoming a complete team."

As the team continues to bond, said Simpson, the goals keep getting bigger.

"I honestly think we're capable of winning a conference championship," he said.

USM

Senior forward Stacey Kent scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Huskies (11-1) to an 81-64 victory over Husson on Monday. Kent was 7 of 16 from the field and 3 of 6 from 3-point range. She was honored before the game for scoring her 1,000th career point.

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

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