NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Husson University men's basketball team battled New York University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament on Friday evening and came up short, but not for lack of effort, falling 82-61 to the Violets inside of the John A. Paulson Center on the campus of NYU.

Offense was hard to come by for both teams to open Friday's first round matchup, but three-pointers from freshman Andre McCauley and senior Scott Lewis gave Husson (23-6) a 6-5 edge at the first media timeout.

The two teams traded buckets throughout the next four-minute segment of the first half, but it was the Violets (21-5) who took a 14-10 edge into the second break of the opening frame.

Following a layup from freshman Kyle O'Hare to bring the Eagles back to within 14-12, NYU would take control of the game, using a 20-8 run over seven minutes of game-play to secure a 34-20 lead with 4:25 remaining in the first half.

Husson didn't go away, outscoring the Violets 11-7 over the final stretch of the half, including three three-pointers to end the opening 20 minutes from graduate student Derek Collin, sophomore Eric Ahlers and Lewis to send the Eagles into the locker room trailing 41-31.

The Eagles survived a chilly first-half shooting performance, shooting just 11-37 from the floor in the opening half, by tallying seven made three-pointers. On the other end of the floor, Husson managed to run NYU off the three-point line, holding the fifth-ranked three-point percentage offense in all of division III to just 3-15 shooting from beyond the arc in the first half of play.

Husson made its run to begin the final 20 minutes of action, as senior Jeremy Moronta, who went scoreless in the first half, recorded back-to-back and-1s to open the second-half scoring, which brought the Eagles within six.

The Eagles kept their momentum going over the next four minutes and 30 seconds of play, going on an 18-6 run overall to begin the second half to secure their first lead since the 15:31-mark of the first half, holding a 49-47 advantage with 14:20 remaining.

Husson was able to continue battling the Violets through the under-12-minute media timeout, trailing just 54-53, despite a lower-body injury to junior Riles Neff earlier on in the second half.
NYU was able to take advantage of an undermanned Eagles squad, utilizing a 20-0 run in-total over five-plus minutes to take firm control of the contest, leading 72-53 with just over five minutes remaining.

Husson was unable to overcome the Violets, tallying just eight points after their offensive-flurry to begin the half, as NYU would advance to face Tufts in the second round on Saturday.

Lewis led the Eagles offensively, posting 18 points and five rebounds, in addition to two blocks in his final game in a Husson uniform. Moronta struggled to get shots to fall, shooting just 3-16 from the floor, tallying 10 points and seven rebounds.

A trio of Eagles posted eight-point outings, as Neff, McCauley and Ahlers tied for third in Husson scoring. Ahlers added six rebounds, while Neff dished out three assists. 
The Eagles' three-point shooting didn't translate into the second half of action, as Husson shot just 2-9 from beyond the arc in the final 20 minutes, compared to the Violets, who caught fire from downtown in the second half, posting six made three-pointers on 16 attempts.

With the loss the season has come to an end for the Husson University men's basketball team.