BANGOR, Maine — The Husson University men's basketball team improved to 5-0 on the young season as it defeated New England Small College Athletic Conference foe Bates College by a score of 66-58 on Tuesday evening at Newman Gymnasium.

Husson (5-0) started fast out of the gate as it opened up an 18-6 edge over the first nine and a half minutes of play. The Bobcats (1-5) refused to go away as they would chip away at the Eagles' lead for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes and would knot the game up at 32 with less than a minute left after a jumper from Trace Gotham. Neither team would gain possession of the lead in the final minute as the first half finished the way it started, as the two teams went into the locker room all tied up at 32-apiece.

Senior Jared Balser and junior Riles Neff paced the Husson scoring attack in the first half, tallying eight points each, while senior Jeremy Moronta put in seven of his own, in addition to ripping down six rebounds.

The Eagles used a 17-7 scoring run to gain their advantage back to begin the second half, with freshman Andre McCauley scoring 10 of those points himself. Husson never pulled away from the Bobcats, but Bates was unable to get the deficit under two possessions as the Eagles secured their first win in the series since December of 2018.

Five Husson players finished in double-figures to lead a balanced scoring attack on the evening. Neff finished with a 14-point, 10-assist double-double to pace the Eagles, while McCauley finished with 13. Balser tallied 12 points, in addition to swatting away two shots and recording two steals.

Moronta also finished with a double-double, as he concluded his night with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while sophomore Eric Ahlers wrapped up the double-figure scoring, as he tallied 10 points and seven rebounds.

Husson will be back in action this weekend as it travels to Lyndonville, Vt. for a two-game series with Vermont State University Lyndon in its first two North Atlantic Conference games of the year. Game one tips off on Friday at 5:30 p.m., while game two will start at 1 p.m. the following afternoon.