LEWISTON, Maine – The Husson University men's basketball team survived a late rally from Bates College on Wednesday night and picked up a 78-76 win over the Bobcats at Alumni Gymnasium, while graduate student Jeremy Moronta picked up his 1,000th career-point in the win.

Moronta surpassed the 1,000-point plateau on the first possession of the game for Husson (2-2) when he drilled a three-pointer to put the Eagles up early on.

Husson would maintain at least a two-possession lead for a large margin of the first half, before Bates (0-3) would close the last 2:30 on an 11-4 run to take its first lead with 13 seconds left into the locker room with the score at 44-43.

Moronta had over half of the Husson points in the opening half, as he poured in 22 on 7-10 shooting, including 2-4 from beyond the arc and 6-6 from the foul line, while senior Riles Neff added seven points of his own.

Both teams shot efficiently in the opening 20 minutes, as the Eagles posted a near 47% shooting clip, including over 36% from three-point range, while the Bobcats shot better than 51% in the first half.

Husson rebounded quickly in the second half to regain possession of its lead, scoring the first five points of the final half to go back in front.

The Eagles would continue to add on gradually throughout the half, building the lead up to as many as 14 with 6:01 remaining.

Bates did not quit, however, as a 10-0 run from the Bobcats had them right back into the contest with just over 3:30 remaining and the score at 70-66.

Husson looked to have put the game out of reach with 1:11 left on a free throw-split from sophomore Andre McCauley, but once again the Bobcats battled back.

Five-consecutive points from Babacar Pouye put Bates to within 75-73, but McCauley managed to make both free throws after being fouled with 29 seconds left to extend the lead back to two-possessions.

Pouye got the Bobcats even closer when he connected on a three to make the score 77-76 and one-of-two foul shots from Neff kept Bates alive with a chance to send the game to overtime or win the game.

Pouye got two good chances close to the basket off on the final possession but good defense by the Eagles allowed them to come away with a second-consecutive win over the Bobcats.

Moronta posted a game-high 27 points to pace Husson, shooting 8-14 from the floor and 3-5 from three-point land, in addition to a perfect 8-8 from the foul line and hauling down nine rebounds.

Neff, junior Gil Matondo and sophomore Tope Alao also posted double-digit point totals, as Neff added 12, while Matondo and Alao each scored 11, while Matondo grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.

As a unit Husson shot nearly 40% from the floor, including a near 39% clip from beyond the arc, while shooting 35 free throws in the game. The Eagles won the rebounding battle by a slim margin and forced 18 turnovers from Bates.

Husson is back in action on the road on Saturday when it travels to Saint Joseph's College of Maine for the seventh annual Alumni Cup at 3 p.m.