BANGOR, Maine – North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Player of the Year Josh Jones (Jefferson, Maine) scored a team-high 19 points and notched the go-ahead free throw with one minute remaining to lead no.1 seeded Husson University over no. 4 seeded Castleton, 75-73, in the semifinal round of the NAC Tournament on Friday afternoon at Newman Gymnasium.

The Eagles improve to 20-6 overall on the season and play no. 2 seeded Lyndon State College tomorrow at 2:00 pm. The Spartans close out their season at 15-12.

Jones recorded a double-double scoring 19 points (8-of-16 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from the line) and a game-high 15 rebounds (four offensive) to pace Husson offensively. The senior forward also dished out three assists, added one steal and one block. Daeshawn McMorrin (Naugatuck, Conn.) chipped in with 16 points including three 3-pointers, four rebounds and three assists. Eric Modica (Kittery, Maine) tallied 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds while Jay Uhrin (Winterport, Maine) contributed 13 points and two assists to round out the majority of the scoring.

For Castleton, senior guard Mike Knight (Spring Valley, N.Y.) led all scorers with 22 points (15 in the first half), five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Kevin Eisenberg (Moultonborough, N.H.) dropped in 14 points making three 3-pointers while sophomore swingman Mark Comstock (Rutland, Vt.) added 11 points and Jared Paul (Tampa, Fla.) aided the offense with 13 points.

Trailing 40-35 with 2:01 left in the first half, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to claim a 41-40 lead headed into intermission. Uhrin highlighted the spurt of offense late in the half canning a tough layup through traffic and a free throw to complete an old-fashioned three point play with 28 seconds remaining for Husson.

In the second half, both teams exchanged leads several times with no advantage for either squad being higher than four points. 

With 2:10 remaining in the game, Paul canned a pair of free throws and Comstock buried a tough left-handed layup to tie the score at 73-73 with 1:32 left to go in the contest. Then, Jones made 1-of-his-2 free throws at the line to give Husson a one point edge with a minute left to go. After a missed three pointer attempt by Castleton, the Eagles had the ball with 32 seconds left to play but Comstock swiped the ball and went down court on a 1-on-2 break where Modica made a diving interception to prevent the Spartans of a scoring opportunity. 

Castleton outrebounded Husson, 35-33, while the Eagles made nine steals and dished out 16 assists. The Spartans also shot 9-of-19 from beyond the arc (47.4 percent) and 27-of-52 from the field (51.9 percent). The Eagles went 31-of-65 from the field (47.7 percent), 4-of-16 from long distance (25.0 percent) and 9-of-17 from the charity stripe (52.9 percent).