BANGOR, Maine — The Northern Vermont University-Johnson Men's basketball team (#6) faced off against Husson University (#3) in the quarterfinal round of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) tournament on Saturday afternoon. In a back and forth battle that featured 11 ties and four lead changes, the Eagles secured a 70-61 win to move on to the NAC Semifinals.
Robert Dubose Jr. had a game-high 19 points and added four rebounds, three steals, two assists, and one block. Kiyl Mack tallied 12 points on 5-9 shooting, five rebounds, three steals, and two assists for the Badgers.
After trading the lead throughout the first half of the frame, a made layup by Javon Daniels gave the Badgers a 20-18 edge. Husson's DJ Bussey answered with a jump shot before NVU-Johnson regained the lead on the next possession on a layup from Ayodeji Shokeye. The Eagles stormed out of their timeout on a 7-0 run to take a five point lead. Trading jumpsuits through the final three minutes, the Badgers held onto a 33-31 advantage at the end of the first half.
A made three point shot by Husson's Justice Kendall brought the Eagles within one point before two straight field goals gave the Badgers a five point lead with 15:49 remaining. Mack thwarted a 5-0 run by the Eagles to retake the lead less than three minutes later before a shot from behind the arc gave Husson a 45-40 edge. The Husson offense began to take over as they went on a 17-6 run to hold an 11 point lead with under five minutes to play. DuBose Jr. cut the deficit to single-digits and a jump shot by Kiyl Mack brought the Badgers back within six. Going 11-12 from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds of play, the Eagles maintained their lead to take a 70-61 victory over NVU-Johnson.
The Badgers edged the Eagles in the rebounding battle 34-28. The Eagles bench poured in 34 points and Husson shot 85.7% from the charity stripe to the Badgers 58.3%.
With the loss the Northern Vermont University-Johnson men's basketball team concludes the season with an overall record of 7-19, while the Eagles improve to 12-14 and advance to the NAC Semifinal.