Great Bay CC loses 2 players; Dover's Breen gets full scholarship to DII Saint Michael's

PORTSMOUTH - The Great Bay Community College men's basketball team has seen some success in recent years. The Herons went 18-8 this past season, and 22-9 the year before when the team advanced to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Basketball Division II semifinals.

Larger basketball programs have certainly taken notice. Alex Tavares, a starter on the national semifinal team, played at the University of New Hampshire last season, and has since t ransferred to Southern Wesleyan University , a Division II program in central South Carolina.

More: Alex Tavares to play final college basketball season at Southern Wesleyan University

Now, Kingsley Breen and Mike Einarson have found new homes.

Breen, a former player at Dover High School, is going to Division II's Saint Michael's College in Colchester, Vermont; and Einarson, who played at Timberlane Regional High School, has transferred to Division III Colby-Sawyer College in New London.

"Honestly, it's exciting," said Great Bay head coach Alec Burt, who took over at Great Bay at the start of the 2018-19 season. "Just the fact that in four years we've been able to win, and we've graduated a ton of kids. This past off-season we had (University of New Hampshire) in our gym to look at guys, and we had Saint Mike's, New Haven, Franklin Pierce and a few (Division III programs) that decided to come by, too."

Burt just finished his fourth season at Great Bay Community College, which went 9-13 in his first year.

"Now, we're graduating upwards of 20 guys and multiple scholarship programs are in our gym, for me it's so special," he said. "It's special just to play any role honestly in their lives."

Breen fulfills dream on full scholarship to Saint Mike's

After two seasons with the Herons, Breen is heading to Saint Michael's to continue his collegiate playing career.

Breen, a 6-foot-4 guard, received a call from St. Mike's head coach Eric Eaton toward the end of last season, and arranged a time to get together.

"I went there, and we just built a relationship," Breen said. "(Being on a full scholarship) has been my dream since I was a little kid; to be able to fulfill that and not have my parents pay that, and be able to try to compete at a high level is a dream come true."

Breen, who averaged 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 25 games with Great Bay last season, has two years of eligibility left, and is excited for his new journey.

"Coach (Eaton) has that track record of being a great coach," Breen said. "He's really invested in his players, and I can't wait to go there and really work on being better with my teammates."

Saint Michael's, which plays in the Northeast-10 conference, went 24-9 last season, losing to Southern New Hampshire University in the NCAA Division II East Regional championship.

Breen is thankful for his time with Burt and his teammates at Great Bay.

"Great Bay is an awesome spot," he said. "It's a small spot, but Coach Burt really made it so easy for us to get all the resources we needed to work hard in school and basketball. (Coach Burt) put us in the right positions to be ourselves, but also be challenged every day and not take any days off."

Burt said Breen has had "tremendous growth" in his two years at Great Bay.

"A large piece of that is just (Breen's) work ethic," Burt said. "He was in our gym every morning, often times getting to school even before I did. He was in the weight room or shooting; just really invested in trying to make the most of his experience."

Einarson ready to be back on the court

Einarson played in just four games last season due to a broken foot, but is fully ready to play at Colby-Sawyer this season.

Einarson said Burt assisted him in finding potential schools.

"I went up to Colby-Sawyer and met with the coaches and some of the players who'll be on the team next year," Einarson said. "It just felt like a great fit for me. (There was) a great vibe. I really liked all aspects of the facility, and the people. It really felt like the right place for me."

Einarson, who stands 6-foot-8, first got in contact with Colby-Sawyer this spring, and is eager to start competing. Burt said Einarson was flying under the radar and is someone "who wants to be in the gym."

"He's a team guy," Burt said. "These last two years, we've won 40 games, and it's no secret (Einarson) was a nice piece to that puzzle."

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Great Bay CC loses 2 players; Dover's Breen gets full scholarship to DII Saint Michael's