Husson Men's Basketball Captures 2017 NAC Championship
Husson Men's Basketball Captures 2017 NAC Championship
For the Interactive Tournament Bracket - click HERE.
For the Printable (PDF) Tournament Bracket - click HERE.
The No. 1 seeded Husson Eagles claimed an 89-67 victory over the No. 3 Thomas Terriers to capture their sixth North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Men's Basketball Championship. The Eagles also claimed their 25th conference championship in program history with 12 under head coach Warren Caruso.
The matchup between Husson (21-6, 17-2 NAC) and Thomas (15-13, 11-8 NAC) featured an equal display of skill and heart left on the court on Saturday afternoon in Newman Gymnasium, while Husson was led by the 2017 NAC Player of the Year Raheem Anderson who netted 33 points.
The first five minutes saw both teams struggling with early fouls and turnovers, before settling into a composed groove. With ten minutes left in the first half, the Eagles came from behind as they went on an 11-0 run after a layup by Anderson giving Husson a 23-17 lead. Anderson took charge of the run, capturing eight of the Eagles' 11 points in under three minutes.
On the half, Anderson led all scorers with 15 points and four assists, while Zach Curran followed with seven points and five boards and Justin Smith showed speed on the court, seizing two steals to help his team finish out the half with a 35-34 lead over the Terriers. The Terriers were led by Jordan Derosby at the half, as he netted 11 points to go along with four rebounds. Teammates, Tyheem Simon and Carlos Gonzalez split six points each. Both teams showed dominance under the hoop defensively as Thomas grabbed 18 total rebounds (16 defensive), while Husson gathered 19 (14 defensive).
With a slow start into the second half, the Eagles lost the lead until a combo play by Husson's Smith and Martin in the sixth minute helped reclaim the lead over Thomas, 45-44. Terriers' Gonzalez retaliated with a layup, quickly followed up by Husson's Eli Itkin draining a deep 3-pointer to start a 12-1 run for the Eagles over the next two and half minutes. Mitch Worcester contributed five points to the run, helping Husson capture a ten point lead, the largest score gap of the game so far, 57-47.
The Eagles continued to separate themselves from the Terriers in the final seven minutes of the game, as Worcester commanded the floor from behind the arc, crushing three 3-pointers to increase Husson's lead to a 20-point cushion with 3:42 left on the clock. There was no catching up for Thomas, as the Eagles seized back-to-back conference championship for the ninth time in program history with by a final score of 89-67.
Anderson broke 30 points for the eighth time this season with 33, while adding eight assists, while Worcester netted 24 points and six rebounds and Itkin added nine points and five rebounds. Overall, the Eagles shot an impressive 90.9% (20-of-22) from the charity stripe to the Terrier's 75.0% (15-of-20).
Thomas had multiple players record double-digit points, led by Simon with 15 points, followed by Derosby and Gonzalez netting 12 points respectively, while Ian King snatched up six rebounds.
2017 NAC All-Tournament Team:
MVP – Raheem Anderson, Husson
Mitch Worcester, Husson
Alonzo McCain, Husson
Jordan Derosby, Thomas
Ian King, Thomas
Chad Copeland, Castleton
Raymond Monroe, Lyndon State
Husson will now wait for selection Monday at 12:30 p.m. to see who they will play in the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
--Courtesy of Husson Sports Information
Click HERE for the Interactive Tournament Bracket.
Click HERE for the Printable Tournament Bracket.
2017 NAC MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 21 (at higher seeds)
No. 4 Lyndon 88, No. 5 UMaine-Farmington 66 - Boxscore
No. 3 Thomas 77, No. 6 Colby-Sawyer 71 - Boxscore
Semifinals • Friday, February 24 (at Husson)
No. 3 Thomas 71, No. 2 Castleton 57 - Boxscore
No. 1 Husson 98, No. 4 Lyndon 84 - Boxscore
Championship • Saturday, February 25 (at Husson)
No. 1 Husson 89, No. 3 Thomas 67 - Boxscore
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