Box Score BANGOR, ME – The Thomas men's basketball team won a North Atlantic Conference contest on Saturday afternoon to Husson University by a final score of 73-71 after Justin Murray hit a jump shot at the buzzer to give the Terriers the victory.
In the first half, the two teams battled back and forth, with Thomas trailing by just one point with seven minutes remaining in the half. After Husson pushed the lead into double digits, Owen Brown hit a three-pointer with just one second remaining to cut the Eagles' lead to 37-30 going into halftime.
Levi Barnes led the Terriers in the first half, scoring 10 points. Adam Carlsen added eight points for the Terriers.
In the second half, the Terriers came out firing to open up on a 17-2 run to take the lead 47-39 just five minutes into the half. Husson would storm back however, overtaking the lead once more with six minutes to play.
That wouldn't last very long, as Carlsen hit back-to-back three-pointers to push the Terriers back in front. With the game going down to the wire, Murray stepped to the line and hit two free throws to give Thomas a three point lead with 26 seconds remaining.
On Husson's next possession, Aaron Willis hit a jumper to bring the game back to a one point margin, before Carlsen sank two free throws to push the lead back to three with 18 seconds remaining.
After a Terriers' timeout, Husson's Raheem Anderson knocked down a three with six seconds remaining to knot the game at 71-71. The Terriers pushed the ball down the court with no timeouts remaining before Murray hit the game winning jumper with no time remaining to give Thomas the win.
Murray finished with eight points in the game, none bigger than his final two. Barnes finished with a team-high 22 points on the day, and also grabbed eight rebounds. Carlsen chipped in 21 points and Ian King grabbed 10 rebounds for Thomas while dishing out four assists.
For Husson, Trevon Butler scored 22 points, going 14-16 from the free throw line on the day, while also grabbing nine rebounds. Willis, Anderson, and Jacob Moore also scored double-digit points for the Eagles in the defeat.
The Terriers will now head into the postseason conference tournament as the fifth seed, and will take on fourth-seeded Castleton on the road on Tuesday, February 24. Game time is to be announced.
