Farmington, ME – Husson University men's basketball improved to 11-0 (5-0 North Atlantic Conference) with a critical NAC win over the University of Maine at Farmington on Tuesday night. Husson's 53 percent shooting from the field proved to be the difference for the Eagles in their 77-69 win at Dearborn Gym. With the loss, UMaine-Farmington fell to 6-7, 4-3 in conference play.

The Eagles connected on 28 of their 52 field goal attempts (.528) to the Beavers' 24-of-52 effort (.462) from the floor.

Brooks Spaulding (Fairfield, ME) paced Husson with 15 points, leading a quartet of Eagles in double-figures. Phil Leighton (Naples, ME), Trevon Butler (Waterbury, CT), and Aaron Willis (New York, NY) each tallied 14 points in the win, with Spaulding and Butler each grabbing a team-high five rebounds. Willis also finished with four steals in the game.

Senior Ben Johnson charted game highs of 25 points and eight rebounds with four blocks to lead UMaine-Farmington. Junior Pet Sumner connected on four 3-pointers and was 4-of-4 at the free-throw line on his way to a 20-point night. Senior Sam Leal dished out seven assists, while Nate Carson had four assists and three steals to go with his eight points.

Husson led wire-to-wire, surviving several challenges from UMaine-Farmington along the way.

In the first half, Husson went up 11-0 before UMaine-Farmington got on the board. Husson extended their lead to 27-13 with 6:14 remaining, and the Beavers trimmed the lead down to 35-32 at the half thanks largely to three Sumner 3-pointers.

The Eagles again extended their lead to double digits in the second half, 58-47 at the 6:32 mark, on a Mike Gonzales (Fort Washington, MD) layup. The Beavers answered with a 12-4 run that cut that margin down to a single possession, 62-59, on a Carson trey with 3:26 showing on the clock.

UMaine-Farmington would get no closer, and Husson went 10-of-12 at the line down the stretch to secure the win. Husson head coach Warren Caruso said, "We executed our game plan well tonight—we attacked the zone throughout the game and contested UMaine-Farmington's shots. This was a big conference win on the road for Husson."

UMaine-Farmington returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 18, when it hosts Thomas College. Husson plays host to NAC rival Colby-Sawyer College on Friday, January 17, at 5:30 PM and hosts New England College on Saturday, January 18, at 1:00 PM.