Lewiston, ME – Husson men's basketball fell 81-52 to non-conference NESCAC opponent Bates on the road on Tuesday night. The Eagles (12-6, 9-2 NAC) were riding a two game winning streak in the series against the Bobcats (8-12, 2-5 NESCAC) heading into the matchup.

Bates came out strong, grabbing a 25-7 lead in the first ten minutes and hanging on to that lead for the rest of the game. Luke Matarazzo led four Bates players in double figures with 17 points, three assists, and two steals. Ed Bogdanovich contributed a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Brooks Spaulding (Fairfield, ME), Jacob Moore (Hampden, ME), and Marc Zaharchuk (Richmond, ME) shared Husson's scoring lead with nine points apiece. Wes Murphy (Norwich, CT) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

Cunningham opened up the scoring with a baseline jumper, assisted by Brust, and Brust set up another jumper by Bogdanovich to make it 4-0. A layup by Corey Wood (Laurel, MD) and a 3-pointer by Moore closed it to 7-5 before Bates scored 10 unanswered points to assume a 17-5 lead with 14:32 still to go in the half. Bates received layups by Brust and Bogdanovich, then benefited from a foul and two technical fouls all called in succession against Husson. Matarazzo made three straight free throws as a result, then drilled a 3-pointer from the wing 10 seconds later on a Brust helper. Bates kept its lead in double digits for the rest of the period, and game. Brust was fouled with 10.8 seconds left in the half and made both foul shots, sending the teams into the locker rooms with Bates ahead 43-27.

Bates sophomore Graham Safford drove for a layup in the opening seconds of the second half, kick-starting an 11-0 Bates run over the first three minutes of the period that put Husson in a 27-point hole, at 54-27. The Bobcats' lead remained at 23 or more the rest of the way.

Husson returns to NAC play on Friday with a 5:30 pm game at Green Mountain College. Bates returns to NESCAC play this weekend, playing at Amherst on Friday at 6 pm.