Bangor, ME - The Husson University men's basketball team secured the fourth seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament with a 65-50 win over Castleton.  The defending NAC champions willl host Green Moutnain College in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, February 23.  With the win, Husson improves to 15-10 overall and 9-5 in the conference.  Castleton, who is seeded second in the NAC, falls to 10-4 in the conference and 16-9 overall. 

Husson honored the contributions of seniors Brock Bradford (Lee, ME), Matt Cummings (Howland, ME), and Matt MacKenzie (Warren, ME) with senior day festivities before the start of the game.  The many contributions made by Husson's seniors were acknowledged in front of their families and friends at Newman Gymnasium.

Castleton scored the game's first basket with a Mike Knight (Jr., Spring Valley, NY) jumper that was immediately answered by a MacKenzie layup.  Castleton gained an early 6-13 lead when Mark Comstock (Fy., Rutland, VT) hit a two.  Despite trailing behind the Spartans for much of the first half, the Eagles rallied to end the half within three of Castleton at 19-22 when Jay Uhrin (Jr., Winterport, ME) hit a three. 

In the first half, Castleton's Jared Paul (So., Tampa, FL) had 9 points followed by Knight with 6 points and 6 rebounds.  Husson's MacKenzie tallied 7 points on the half.

Three minutes into the second half, Hussson tied the game at 26 when MacKenzie hit a layup.  The two teams would trade leads numerous times until Josh Jones hit a three-point shot to give the Eagles a 33-29 lead that they would not relinquish. The game's final score was 65-50.

Castleton's Paul collected 13 points followed by Knight who netted 10 points, shooting 6-11 from the floor.  Seniors Bradford and MacKenzie led the charge for the eagles, scoring 18 and 15 points respectively.  MacKenzie shot 6-9 form the floor and was 3-3 at the foul line.  The Eagles rallied in the second half, hitting 61.5 % of their field goals.

Husson will host the first round of the NAC tournament on Tuesday, February 23 and will play against Green Moutnain College at a time to be determined.  Castleton will travel to top seeded U. Maine Farmington and will face the winners of a Johnson State vs. Thomas matchup.