The Husson University men’s basketball team and the Maine Maritime Academy’s women’s team earned NCAA Division III Tournament berths by beating teams from SUNY Cobleskill in their North Atlantic Conference championship games on Saturday afternoon.
The Husson men from Bangor placed five players in double figures en route to their 80-70 road win over SUNY Cobleskill while the MMA women from Castine outscored visiting SUNY Cobleskill 34-14 in the fourth quarter to rally for a 78-62 victory.
The teams will learn their destinations for the NCAA Division III Tournaments during Monday afternoon’s selection show.
It is the fifth championship in eight years for Warren Caruso’s Husson men and their first since 2020-21. Craig Dagan’s Mariner women earned their second consecutive title.
In the men’s game, Husson used a 12-4 spurt in the second half to transform a 58-52 lead into a 70-56 advantage and all but sewed up the win.
Scott Lewis and Eric Ahlers had 16 points apiece for the Eagles.
Lewis had six blocked shots, three rebounds, three steals and two assists to go with his 16 points and Ahlers also had two rebounds, Andre McCauley had 15 points, tournament Most Valuable Player Jeremy Moronta produced 11 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and five steals and Riles Neff had 11 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Kobe Long had a game-high 20 points for the Fighting Tigers and he also had four rebounds and three assists. Markel Jenkins had a game-high 19 rebounds along with 12 points and three assists. Iziah Pigott finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and four assists and Andre Starks had nine points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Addition to Moronta, Ahlers and McCauley were chosen to the all-tourney team along with Long and Jenkins from SUNY Cobleskill.
In Castine, tournament MVP Erianna Moore poured in a game-high 24 points and also had seven rebounds, seven assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
MMA outscored the Fighting Tigers 11-2 to start the second half and build a lead it would never relinquish at 55-50.
Maria Barela contributed 21 points, four rebounds and two steals. Mackenzie Monzon chipped in with nine points, six rebounds and six assists and Sydney Briscoe had seven points, a game-high 15 rebounds and two steals.
Logan Thayne’s 18 points, four rebounds and two blocked shots led SUNY Cobleskill. Emily Satterday had 12 points and six rebounds, Antonia May had 11 points and five rebounds and Annie Canales had nine points and two rebounds.
Barela and Briscoe joined Moore on the all-tourney team along with SUNY Cobleskill’s Thayne and Cara Walker, Husson University’s Bailey Donovan and SUNY Canton’s Sierra Pabo.