PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Husson University men's basketball team used a 49-point second half, including 20 from junior Riles Neff, to capture an 84-61 North Atlantic Conference win over the University of Maine-Presque Isle on Tuesday evening inside Wieden Gymnasium.
After allowing the first five points of the contest to UMPI (9-13, 5-7 NAC), Husson (18-5, 9-3 NAC) slowly took control of Tuesday's NAC East Division affair. Following a layup from senior Jeremy Moronta to give the Eagles a 10-8 lead with 14:33 remaining, Husson trailed for just 14 seconds for the remainder of the opening frame, as it carried a 35-33 edge into the halftime break.
Neff tallied nine first half points to lead a balanced Eagle scoring attack, as Husson recorded a 38.9% shooting percentage in the opening half, but survived a chilly first-half shooting performance from beyond the arc, as it mustered just two makes on its 13 attempts.
The Eagles never trailed in the second half, slowly extending their lead over the Owls, which included a lead of 23 three times throughout the final frame.
Neff's 29 paced the Husson offense, which saw three other players tally double-figure point totals. Neff shot efficiently from the floor, posting a 10-18 shooting clip, in addition to 5-9 from three-point land. Neff concluded his stellar outing with seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
Freshman Andre McCauley posted 14 points of his own to help the Eagles earn a season-series split with UMPI, while Moronta and senior Scott Lewis each added 11. Moronta also added nine rebounds and Lewis contributed five rebounds and two blocks off the bench.
The Husson offense caught fire as a whole in the final 20 minutes of play, in what was a pivotal contest in terms of divisional seeding for the upcoming conference tournament. The Eagles shot just over 58% from the floor during the second half, including a scorching 7-11 from beyond the arc. Husson put the finishing touches on its ninth conference win of the year thanks in part to great ball movement, as it tallied 15 assists on its 32 made field goals.
The Eagles will conclude their regular season schedule this weekend when they host Lesley University for a back-to-back. Friday's NAC contest is set for 5:30 p.m., with Saturday's tip-off happening at 1 p.m.
