DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The Husson University men's basketball team willed its way to a 73-70 win over UMass Dartmouth in the first round of the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament at the Tripp Athletic Center on the campus of UMass Dartmouth on Saturday evening.
In a battle of the two winningest active coaches in Division III, it was UMass Dartmouth (0-2) who jumped out to an early 15-6 lead on the back of three made three-pointers.
Husson (1-1) responded and took its first lead of the game with just under seven minutes left in the opening half on a bucket from graduate student Scott Lewis, putting the Eagles up 21-20.
The two teams went back and forth for the remaining minutes of the opening half, but it was the Corsairs who took a slight 30-27 lead into the halftime break.
Much like the end of the first half, Saturday evening's contest was highly-contested for the entirety of the second half, in a game that saw five ties and five lead changes.
After UMass Dartmouth used a 9-2 run to draw even at 65 with 2:33 left, senior Riles Neff immediately gave the Eagles the lead back with two free throws and the lead would be extended to four on a jumper from sophomore Andre McCauley after a turnover from the Corsairs.
UMass Dartmouth wouldn't go away, as a jumper from Jayquan Leonard brought them back to within two, but a driving layup from Lewis regained the two-possession edge for the Eagles.
With just 23 seconds left, the Corsairs knew they needed a three-pointer to get back within one possession and that's just what they got from Trent Santos, but two free throws from Neff after 13 crucial seconds ticked off the clock pushed the Husson lead back to three points.
With one last chance remaining for UMass Dartmouth, a three from the top of the key came up short, falling into the hands of Camden Dichiara, who managed to get a last-second shot up from the left corner, but his heavily-contested shot missed, securing the win for Husson.
Neff and Lewis paced the Eagles to their first win of the year, as Neff posted 20 points on 5-12 shooting, including 4-7 from three-point land, in addition to a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe and five rebounds, while Lewis added 19 on an efficient 7-11 from the floor, in addition to seven rebounds and two blocks.
Graduate student Jeremy Moronta also scored in double-digits, as he poured in 11 on 3-3 shooting, as the Eagles shot 48% from the floor as a team, in addition to nearly 53% from beyond the arc and 16-20 from the foul line, while winning the rebound battle 36-30.
Husson is back in action tomorrow, as it will battle No. 6 Trinity College (Conn.) in the championship of the Lafrance Hospitality Tournament at 12 p.m.
