LYNDONVILLE, Vermont — The Husson University men’s basketball team converted three of four late shots to propel the Eagles to a 71-66 win over Lyndon State Friday night.
The Eagles (16-5, 12-3 North Atlantic Conference) and Hornets (8-14, 7-8) were knotted at 62 late in the contest before Husson’s Jacob Moore converted a 3-pointer with 2:20 left. David Johnson answered for the Hornets with a pair of free throws, but Husson’s Aaron Willis hit another 3-pointer to help Husson seal the win.
Willis finished with a team-high 18 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. Moore added 15 points and five assists while Trevon Butler notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Raheem Anderson added 14 points.
David Johnson had a game-high 26 points for Lyndon.
UMF 67, Green Mountain 43
At Poultney, Vermont, Uriah Forest-Bulley scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead UMaine-Farmington by Green Mountain College.
Nick Hilton added 10 points and 10 rebounds for UMF while Pet Sumner contributed 12 points.
Cameron Anderson paced GMC with 17 points.
MMA 64, Johnson 58
At Johnson, Vermont, Maine Maritime Academy held on to defeat Johnson State College at Carter Gymnasium.
Tyler Gilson sparked MMA (3-19, 2-13 NAC) with 14 points and seven rebounds while Zachary Radcliffe finished with 13 points. Nick Holt added 11 points.
Rob Hazard paced Johnson State with 18 points.
Tufts 72, Colby 64
At Waterville, Tufts University shot 57.7 percent from the field and had a rebounding advantage of nine in the second half to turn an eight-point halftime deficit into a victory over Colby in NESCAC action.
Ryan Spadaford was 5-for-9 from 3-point range and had a team-high 17 points for the Jumbos (13-10 overall, 6-3 NESCAC). Tom Palleschi finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting, while Stephen Haladyna and Tarik Smith each had 12 points. Smith also had four assists.
Ryan Jann led Colby (13-10, 4-5 NESCAC) with a game-high 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Luke Westman added 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting, while Shane Rogers and Sam Willson both had eight points.
Colby shot 48 percent from the field, held Tufts to 29.4 percent shooting, and had a 23-14 rebounding margin in taking a 33-25 halftime lead. The Mules could have led by more, but hurt their own cause with 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Softball
Maine splits two
At Jacksonville, Florida, the University of Maine softball team split its opening day doubleheader on Friday at the University of North Florida complex. The Black Bears defeated Jacksonville State 3-1 on game one before falling North Florida, 3-0 in game two.
In game one, the Black Bears received a superb outing in the circle from senior Alexis Bogdanovich as the senior went the distance in the victory, scattering six hits and striking out five.
Jacksonville State got on the board first Ella Denes double down the leftfield line plated Cadi Oliver in the home half of the second inning.
Maine answered with its first runs of the year, taking the lead with a pair of scores in the top of the third. Felicia Lennon ripped a double to the gap in right center, scoring Erika Leonard. Lennon would advance to third on the play before later scoring on an RBI single from Janelle Bouchard.
Bogdanovich and the Maine defense kept Jacksonville State off the scoreboard the rest of the way. The Black Bears were able to add a run in the top of the sixth when Lennon once again drove in Leonard for her second RBI of the game.
Despite a leadoff double by the Gamecocks in the bottom of the seventh, Maine was able to hold its lead and pick up its first win of the year, 3-1.
Game two proved to be a pitchers duel into the sixth inning as both teams failed to plate runs in the opening five innings.
The Ospreys broke the scoreless tie as they put three runs across in the top of the sixth. Abby Tewey drove in a pair with a single before Lexi Taylor’s sacrifice fly allowed Ashley Niesman to tag and score the third run of the inning.
Maine was unable to close the gap, falling in game two, 3-0.
Bouchard continued to stay hot at the plate for Maine as she went 2-for-2 while Lennon and Faythe Goins each added a hit.
The Black Bears featured two freshmen in the circle in game two. Molly Flowers got the start and tossed four innings of shutout ball before giving up three runs in the sixth. Flowers finished with five strikeouts. Fellow freshman Annie Kennedy tossed two innings in relief, giving up just one hit.
Maine returns to action Saturday with another doubleheader as it will take on Virginia Tech at 10 a.m. before meeting James Madison at 12:15 p.m.
Women’s Basketball
Husson 70, Lyndon 45
At Lyndonville, Vermont, Husson used an 18-5 run to open the second half to overwhelm Lyndon State and go on to win. Husson improves to 14-8 overall and 12-3 in the NAC and Lyndon falls to 6-16 nad 5-10.
The Eagles held a 27-23 lead at half, but seven points each from Victoria McIntyre and Samira Cruz during the run helped propel the Eagles to a 45-28 lead with 12 minutes to go in the contest.
Lyndon could get no closer than 14 points the rest of the way as the Eagles cruised to the win.
McIntyre and Cruz each finished with a team-high 12 points while Taylor Blood added nine points and five boards.
Aimee Thompson had 13 points and four rebounds for Lyndon.
Husson shot 33.8 percent for the game while holding Lyndon to just 26.9 percent. The Hornets had a 54-51 edge in rebounding, but the Eagles got 40 points from their bench to Lyndon’s 17.