BANGOR, Maine - The Husson University men's basketball team (10-3, 7-1 NAC) fell to the New England College Pilgrims (10-4, 6-1 NAC), 84-82, for their first conference loss on Saturday afternoon in Newman Gymnasium on the Husson University campus.

THE STORY:

Husson jumped out to a 11-3 lead in the first few minutes of the ball game, but New England College rallied to tie the game 11-11. After a couple quick baskets swapped back and forth between both teams, the Pilgrims went on a 16-0 run to surge ahead 41-23. The 18 point deficit did not sit well with the Eagles as freshmen guard Dj Bussey scored 3 three-pointers on three consecutive trips down the court. Despite Bussey and Raheem Anderson scoring 25 of the 39 Eagle points, Husson trailed 49-39 going into the locker.

With five quick points by freshmen guard Jarrod Chase early in the second half, Husson trailed 61-54 but the Pilgrims picked away to maintain a 70-61 lead with 8:36 remaining in the game. Trailing 75-67, Bussey nailed a three-pointer, conducted a steal and added another three-pointer to bring the game within five points.

Freshman Justin Thompson added three points from the charity strip narrowing New England College's lead to only 79-76. Over the next 1:50 minutes, Husson brought the game to one-point, three different times, but could not fight back from the 18-point deficit earlier in the game. The Pilgrims handed Husson their first conference loss, 84-82.

LEADERS - Husson

• Freshman Bussey registered a game-high 21 points while adding three assists, shooting 8-12 on the FG line, and 5-8 on the 3-point line.

• Senior Anderson contributed 18 points, five assists, seven rebounds and shot 8-8 on the free throw line.

• Junior forward Justin Martin achieved a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Also shooting 5-7 on the FG line, 2-2 on the charity strip, and 2-3 on the 3-point line.

LEADERS - New England College

• Junior forward Jason Jones contributed 16 points and 13 rebounds for a double-double while also shooting 4-6 on the free throw line.

• Sophomore guard Izaiah Winston-Brooks tallied 15 points, two rebounds and four steals.

• Freshmen guard Calvin Cheek chipped in eight points, five steals, three assists and one rebound.

• Freshman forward Trevor Parker chipped in 14 points.

TEAM STATS:

Husson led in rebounds (39-34), assists (17-10) and second-chance points (18-8) while New England College had a 16-9 advantage in steals.

NEXT!

Husson will host Bowdoin College on Tuesday Jan. 16 for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match-up.