Bangor, ME - The Husson University men's basketball team continued their winning ways, improving to .500 for the first time this season after an emotionally charged victory over visiting Castleton State in the Newman Gymnasium on Saturday. The Eagles shocked the first-place Spartans by a score of 96-78 as Husson was able to halt the usually potent visiting offense. With the win, the Eagles improve to 10-10 overall and a 9-5 in North Atlantic Conference play. In the defeat, Castleton State falls to 12-2 in the NAC and 13-8 on the season. 

Sophomore guard Luis Medina (Hartford, CT) - who was not on the roster when the teams first met this season - led all scorers with 26 points to go along with a game-high seven assists, six rebounds and five steals. Junior Center Marc Zaharchuck (Richmond, ME) added a double-double off the bench, pulling down 16 rebounds - twice the total of any other player in the game - and matching it with 16 points.

Daeshawn McMorrin (Naugatuck, CT) and Mike Gonzales (Ft. Washington, MD) were the other two eagles to finish the game scoring double digits as the tandem added 14 points apiece. As a team, Husson shot nearly 50% from the floor, an won the battle on the boards hauling in 52 rebounds compared to 38 by the Spartans.

For Castleton, 12 players factored in the scoring as the Spartans constantly changed lines, sending out a fresh batch of players at nearly every whistle. Running a system of offense introduced by Grinnell College of Iowa, Castleton jacked up an amazing 49 three-pointers on the day, making 26.5% of their trifectas.

Matt Cooney (Washingtonville, NY) had the hot hand leading the team with 12 points on 3-4 shooting from behind the arc, and was joined in double-digit scoring by Logan White (Hartford, VT) who also made three triples on the afternoon. 

After trading the lead 5 times in the first few minutes, the Spartans held a one point advantage with 12 minutes left to play. The Eagles went on a 12-4 run, and out-scored their opponents 29-15 the rest of the way to take a 58-35 lead into the break. In the second half, Castleton held the advantage in shooting, making 43.8% of their shots, but the Eagles' defense tightened up and never let their opponents closer than 12 points in the final frame to take the victory by a score of 96-78. 

Both teams are off for most of the week, while the Eagles return to action on Friday when they travel to Colby-Sawyer for a 7:30 pm tip-off with the third-place Chargers. The Eagles dropped their last contest with Colby-Sawyer by a score of 86-72 in Bangor earlier in the season. Castleton State will look to rebound when they take the court again next Saturday when they return home to host Green Mountain College.