BANGOR, ME – Husson University (1-1) defeated Saint Joseph's College (3-1), 86-76, in a non-conference men's basketball contest on Thursday evening. Junior forward Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) scored a game-high 19 points in the losing effort.
The game was truly a game of runs, as both teams played close early and went back and forth on runs the rest of the way.
Brooks Spaulding opened up the scoring for Husson, hammering home a slam dunk to put the large home crowd on its feet. The Eagles used a very balanced attack in the opening minutes as all five starters scored within the first six minutes, including two threes from Eric Cottonham.
Nicholas Jobin and Zach Blodgett led the way for the Monks in the same time frame, both scoring two baskets along with a Blodgett free throw. Blodgett scored again two minutes later to bring the score to 17-16 in favor of Husson, the closest it would be for the rest of the night.
The remainder of the first half would be dominated by the Eagles, closing the period on a 30-13 run. Cottonham shot well behind the arc and Aaron Willis put away a few key buckets to give Husson a 47-29 lead at the half.
Spaulding slammed home another raucous dunk at 16:16 and was fouled in the process, by Jobin who, moments later, had a rim-rocker of his own along with a foul on Spaulding. In between the two dunks, Husson earned its largest lead of the night on a Phil Leighton three pointer, 60-38.
From there the Monks started chipping away at the Husson lead. The Eagles challenged big man Krubiel Workie to hit two threes, and he did, to cut the Husson lead to 15.
Matthew Medeiros hit two pairs of free throws followed by a Workie jumper and-one to get within four, 68-64. Jacob Moore notched a pair of freebies for the Eagles seconds later and Jobin hit yet another jumper to keep the lead at four, 70-60.
Both teams went scoreless the next two minutes, ending on yet another Cottonham three. The Eagles pulled away, hitting several free throws down the stretch to seal the win. With the victory Husson improves to 45-35 all-time against St. Joe's, and 1-1 on the young season.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, as Saint Joseph's kicks off conference play with a 1:00 PM contest at Suffolk University and Husson hosts WPI in a 1:00 PM tip-off.
COURTESY OF HUSSON UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION