LEXINGTON, Mass. – The Husson University men's basketball team kept its winning-streak and its North Atlantic Conference unblemished record alive on Sunday afternoon, as it bested Lesley University by a score of 94-82 at Minuteman Gymnasium in Lexington, Massachusetts.
Husson (11-5, 6-0 NAC) got off to a slow start to begin Sunday's conference clash, as Lesley (3-13, 0-5 NAC) led 7-2 early on behind six quick points from Malachi Howard.
The Eagles countered with a 9-0 run of their own, which was spearheaded by graduate student Jeremy Moronta, who had six of those nine points, allowing Husson to lead 11-7 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Lynx continued to fight the defending NAC champions and would break a 26-26 tie with a three-pointer from Joseph Tarell to regain possession of the lead.
Husson would make one last push to close the first half out, as an 11-2 spurt of its own would make it 37-31 and the Eagles would take a 41-35 lead into the locker room.
Moronta and fellow graduate student Scott Lewis paced Husson in the opening half, as Moronta posted 10 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Lewis added 12 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Husson would stretch its lead out to double-digits, as senior Riles Neff would get hot from three-point land to begin the half and with the score at 59-49 in favor of the Eagles with 13:52 remaining in the game, a 9-0 run for Husson would give it its biggest lead of the game so far of 19 points.
The Eagles would match that lead five more times throughout the remainder of the contest and would shut down a late rally attempt from Lesley to roll to their ninth-consecutive win.
Lewis and Moronta each surpassed 20 points on the afternoon, as Lewis posted a team-high and season-high 22, in addition to hauling in seven rebounds, dishing out four assists and swatting away three shots, while shooting 8-12 from the floor.
Moronta added 21 of his own, while finishing one rebound shy of a double-double and handing out five assists and recording five steals.
Neff and sophomore Tope Alao each recorded 16 points, while Alao grabbed a career-best eight rebounds and shot 5-8 from the floor.
Husson shot over 50% from the floor as a team, including nearly 35% from beyond the arc, while holding a 43-30 edge over the Lynx on the glass.
The Eagles will return home and begin a four-game homestand on Saturday when SUNY Cobleskill comes to town for a rematch of last year's NAC championship game, which will take place at 3 p.m. inside Newman Gymnasium.
