Three former Edward Little High School basketball stars enjoyed a triumphant homecoming on the weekend of Nov. 19-20.

Eric Prue, Corey Therriault and Bo Leary made major contributions to two big wins by Wentworth in the Bates Tip-Off Classic.

Prue, a senior guard, was named tournament MVP after hitting 6-of-10 from behind the 3-point line in a 66-55 victory over Bates. Prue produced 22 points in leading the Leopards to their first 3-0 start in 14 years.

Junior forward Therriault turned in 12 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. Leary, a finalist for Maine Mr. Basketball in 2010-11, tore down three rebounds.

The EL trio was reunited with former teammate Kyle Philbrook, who chalked up four points and an assist for Bates.

Therriault leads the team with nine 3-pointers and 12.7 points per game. Both Therriault and Prue are connecting at better than 40 percent from beyond the arc.

Wentworth’s Auburn delegation will encounter another former Red Eddies teammate when it hosts the University of New England on Wednesday in the Commonwealth Coast Conference opener.

Timmy Mains has emerged as an immediate threat for UNE in his freshman campaign, averaging 10.7 points per game. Mains has started one game and played significant minutes off the bench in two others for the Nor’easters (0-3).

CLOSE CALLS

Also at UNE, Kari Pelletier of South Paris (Oxford Hills) and Liz LeBlanc of Jay are in the women’s basketball starting lineup.

Pelletier, a tri-captain, averages nine points, three rebounds and three steals per game.

She hit two free throws with 18 seconds remaining in regulation to give UNE a 65-63 victory over the University of Southern Maine. It was the Nor’easters’ fourth victory in a row over the Huskies.

LeBlanc checks in at just over seven points a game and tops the team with five 3-pointers.

Pelletier scored 17 and LeBlanc 12 in a 63-62 triumph over Rhode Island College.

HAPPY RETURNS

Melanie Cloutier of Paris (Oxford Hills) has made a triumphant return from injury for the Saint Joseph’s College women’s basketball team.

Cloutier nailed three 3-pointers for the Monks in a 93-60 rout of Elms College in the Rutland Herald Tip-Off Classic at Castleton, Vt.

The career-high nine points highlighted Cloutier’s first game action in 21 months. She averaged 2.8 points per game in nine appearances as a freshman before being sidelined in February 2010.

STEAL AWAY

Not many freshman basketball players set a school record in their first collegiate game.

Graham Safford of Bates did just that in the Bobcats’ season-opening men’s basketball tournament. The Hampden Academy graduate set the school standard with eight steals to go with his 13 points in a 71-69 victory over the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

He followed up with 14 points and five rebounds in a loss to Wentworth. Safford was named Maine Men’s Basketball Coaches and Writers Association co-rookie of the week.

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