Bangor, ME - The Husson men's basketball team won a heated thriller over Thomas College, defeating the Terriers by a final score of 77-70 in Newman Gymnasium on Tuesday night. Tempers flared and fouls abound as the two teams totaled 44 personal fouls and three disqualifications in the contest. With the win, the Eagles improved to 3-9 overall and even their North Atlantic Conference record at 3-3. In the defeat, Thomas falls to 7-5 overall and 4-3 in the NAC.

Husson was led in scoring by junior guard Daeshawn McMorrin (Naugatuck, CT) who dropped a game high 22 points, 19 of which came in the second half. McMorrin added nine rebounds, tying a pair of his teammates for the lead in the game. Marc Zaharchuk (Richmond, ME) scored 16 points to go along with his nine boards, while Mike Gonzales (Ft. Washington, MD) narrowly missed a triple double, scoring 11 points, dishing nine assists and matching that total in the rebound column. Phil Leighton (Naples, ME) added 10 points of his own, all of which came in the first half. 

For the Terriers, Jarrad DeVaughn (Brockton, MA) led the team in scoring with 17 to go along with a team-high eight rebounds before he was given an early exit. Sophomore shooting guard Franklin Salvador (Somerville, MA) was hot from deep early, and despite cooling off, still managed to finish the game with 15 points.  Stanley Green Jr (Dorchester, MA) added 13 points off the bench for Thomas, while former Husson Eagle Martin Cleveland (Portland, ME) scored 11 points in his first game at Newman Gymnasium since he helped Husson to the NAC Championship game in 2007.

Collectively, the Eagles were the better shooting team, making 43% of their shots from the floor compared to 28% by the visitors. Husson won the battle on the boards as well, pulling down 56 to 38 rebounds by Thomas. The Terriers were kept in the game by their free-throw shooting, making 21-28, taking advantage of 23 Husson personal fouls. Thomas also won the turnover battle, giving it away 12 times compared to 23 turnovers by Husson. 

The Terriers led for much of the first half, and found themselves up 18-6 with 10:36 left to go in the half before the Eagles found their stride. Husson went on a 20-0 run, highlighted by a 3 from Brad Libby (Brewer, ME) from well beyond NBA range that banked in, much to the delight of the modest crowd. 

Husson took a 28-20 lead into the break, but that eroded early in the period and the teams found themselved tied at 57 with 8:28 left in the game. Husson looked like they were begining to pull away when Gonzales streaked through the Thomas press and laid it in forcing the Terriers to take a timeout. That proved beneficial for the visitors as they cut the lead back down to one a few posessions later.

The Eagles were able to stretch the lead back to six as the clock ticked under two minutes. Eric Modica (Kittery, ME) fought for a defensive rebound and found Zaharchuk streaking down the court and the 6'10" center slammed it home with authority, drawing a standing ovation from his teammates and gave the Eagles a 65-73 lead with 1:30 remaining. Husson hung on with free throws at the end to secure the 77-70 victory. 

Head Coach Warren Caruso was pleased with his team's performance in the close contest, "It was good for us to get a win a close gaame tonight. I was proud of the way our guys kept with it and continue to improve each time they step on the court. We played good defense for 40 minutes, and stuck with our game plan, and hopefully we can continue to do so as the season goes along."

The Eagles return to action this weekend when they travel to Lyndon State for a 5:30 pm start on Friday. They follow that up with a 2:00 pm game on Saturday at Johnson State. Thomas College will return home to Waterville to take on Maine-Farmington at 2:00 pm on Saturday.