WATERVILLE, Maine — The Husson University men's basketball team picked up a North Atlantic Conference victory over arch-rival Thomas College on Friday evening 82-74 inside Larry Mahaney Gymnasium on the back of 27 points from senior Jeremy Moronta.

After a closely-matched first four minutes of action and the score at 8-7 in favor of Husson (16-4, 7-2 NAC), the Eagles used a 13-3 scoring outburst to take control of the game, leading 21-10 midway through the opening half. After facing its biggest deficit of the first half of 13, Thomas (7-12, 3-4 NAC) chipped away at the Husson lead and managed to trail by just six going into the halftime break.

The Eagles tallied a 36% shooting percentage as a team to gain their early lead, in addition to a perfect 8-8 from the foul line in the opening frame. 

The Terriers continued to battle Husson to open the final 20 minutes of play, drawing within 48-47, but they couldn't manage to get closer than that, as a 22-7 run for the Eagles put the game away, as Husson came away with the rivalry win.

Moronta's 27-point, 10-rebound double-double paced the Eagles. Moronta shot an efficient 9-16 from the floor, including 5-8 from beyond the arc, en route to his eighth double-double of the season.

Freshman Andre McCauley posted 14 points of his own, while senior Scott Lewis recorded 10 points and 12 rebounds off the bench to round-out the double-figure scoring.

The Eagles finished at just under 40% from the floor as a team in the victory, tallying 11 made three-pointers and shooting over 81% from the charity stripe. Husson maintained a dominant edge on the glass for the game, holding a 54-39 edge over Thomas in the rebounding category.

With the win, men's basketball head coach Warren Caruso tied the all-time wins record for men's basketball in the history of Husson University. Caruso will look to break the mark set by his mentor Bruce MacGregor tomorrow when the Eagles host Thomas at Newman Gymnasium, with tip-off set for 3 p.m.