BANGOR- The Husson University men’s and women’s basketball teams both played for the first time since December 13 on Friday evening, as they hosted the Wildcats from SUNY Poly in a North Atlantic Conference doubleheader at Newman Gymnasium. At the end of the evening it was a split for the Eagles.
In the men’s game, Husson was outscored by 14 in the second half as SUNY Poly remained unbeaten in conference play with a 70-60 victory. The Eagles took an early 11-2 lead with a 9-0 run, before the Wildcats scored 12 straight to gain a three point advantage. Husson did jump back on top and led by eight late in the first 20 minutes, before SUNY Poly (10-5, 5-0 NAC) scored the final four points to slice it to 33-29 at the halftime break.
An Alan Rodriguez layup just over two minutes into the second half gave the Wildcats a 35-33 lead, and they would never trail again. After falling behind by 11, Justice Kendall nailed a long three-pointer to pull the Eagles within six with 1:19 to go. SUNY would hit 7-8 from the foul line in the closing minute of the game to hold on for the win. DJ Bussey led Husson (4-6, 1-1) with 20 points. Kendall scored 14 points off the bench, AJ Barnes had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Brett Cunningham contributed 10 points and 12 rebounds. Josh Gregory led the Wildcats with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
In the women’s game, Bailey Donovan scored 30 points and Husson sent SUNY Poly to their first conference loss of the season with an 80-60 victory.
The teams swapped the lead five times in the first quarter, and the Eagles took the lead for good on a late jumpshot by Cassie Urso 15-14. Husson outscored SUNY Poly 19-7 in the second quarter and built a comfortable 34-21 halftime lead.
The Wildcats came storming back with a 12-2 run to begin the third and would pull within 36-33 on a three point play by Lauren Denny with 6:51 left. The Eagles though were able to end the period on a 15-7 spurt to increase the advantage to 51-40 headed to the fourth. The hosts would pull away in the fourth as Donovan would put in 13 of her game high 30 points over the final 10 minutes, as Husson (5-4, 3-0 NAC) led by as many as 22. Donovan added eight rebounds and one block in the win. Urso had 15 points and four assists. Vanessa Duarte chipped in nine points off the bench, while Megan Peach filled up the stat sheet with eight points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocked shots. Lyrik Jackson led SUNY Poly with 19 points and six rebounds, while Molly Burdick added 18 points and seven rebounds. The Wildcats fall to 9-5, 4-1.
Both Husson teams are back at it on Saturday afternoon as they welcome in Cazenovia College for an NAC doubleheader beginning with the men’s contest at 12 p.m.
The Husson University Eagles men’s and women’s basketball teams faced off with the SUNY Poly Wildcats in a NAC doubleheader at Newman Gymnasium in Bangor on Friday, January 14, 2022. The SUNY men won 70-60, while the Husson women’s team took the nightcap 80-60. Photos by Chris Lessner
