The Husson Eagles men’s and women’s basketball teams split on NAC Conference Championship Saturday against SUNY-Poly. The men’s team won the title in Bangor, while the women fell in upstate New York to the Wildcats.
At Newman Gymnasium in Bangor, the men’s team rallied from an 11 point first half deficit and got past SUNY-Poly 57-53. The Eagles (15-9) took the lead for good on a pair of Justin Thompson free throws with 14:36 left to play. The Wildcats would pull within one a couple times late after Husson had built a six point advantage, but a Jared Balser layup and a 3-4 effort from the foul line by Derek Collin and DJ Bussey would ice the win and give the hosts their first conference championship since the 2018-2019 season. Thompson led the way in the victory with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Justice Kendall added 14 points. Josh Gregory led all scorers with 21 points and 10 rebounds in the loss for SUNY-Poly, who ends their season at 18-10. Thompson, Bussey, and Kendall were all named to the All-Tournament team. Kendall was also named MVP. The NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament selection show will be Monday at 12:30 p.m.
At the Campus Center in Utica, New York, the run of consecutive NAC Titles came to end at five for the women’s team in a 76-57 loss to SUNY-Poly.
The Wildcats never trailed building a 20-8 lead after one quarter. Sophie Wittenbeck hit a last second three-pointer right before the half for SUNY for the biggest lead of the opening 20 minutes at 38-24. The lead never got below 11 the rest of the way, as the hosts never let Husson back into the game. Three players combined for 64 points in the win for SUNY-Poly, led by 25 points and 11 rebounds by Lyrik Jackson. Molly Burdick had 21 and Kierra Connor had 18 points. Vanessa Duarte had 21 points for the Eagles, while Megan Peach had 18 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. Husson ends their season with a record of 18-6. The Wildcats are now 20-6, and wins their first title within the NAC. It is their fifth conference title in Division III in the past six seasons. Duarte and Peach were named to the All-Tournament team, with Jackson winning the MVP. Eagles standout center Bailey Donovan did not play in the game due to illness.
