Courtsey of Brian Beard

Last weekend, the men’s basketball team (6–1; 0–0 NESCAC) continued its successful streak in non-conference play with a 82–69 win over Husson University (2–5).

The team went into the Husson game having defeated Emmanuel College (0–7) 72–48 and Maine Maritime Academy (3–2) 78-33. The Husson win was the Polar Bears’ sixth of the season, but the team lost its perfect record to Bates College (3–4; 0–0 NESCAC) on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup.

The team entered the Husson game with confidence from its previous wins and stayed focused on the game ahead.

Afamdi Achufusi ’25 explained the team’s mentality going into the matchup.

“Though we’ve been successful so far this season, [we did not want to] be complacent…. We had to acknowledge that we’re about to play a good college basketball team, and we had to keep doing the things that won us the first five games, stay disciplined and stay together,” Achufusi said.

According to Head Coach Alex Lloyd, the Husson game provided an opportunity for the team to face new challenges.

“It was a chance for [the team] to play a team that was going to play us more man–to–man defense and [to] work on some of our execution on that side of the ball,” Lloyd said.

From Achufusi’s perspective, the team’s defensive strength has stood out throughout the season.

“I think our defense has been the best it’s been during my time here,” Achufusi said. “Everyone really locked in on principles, having each other’s back, guarding their own man.”

James McGowan ’25 echoed Achufusi’s perspective, emphasizing the role defense plays in the team’s identity.

“We haven’t always been a great defensive team, and this year, we really started to pull together, and it’s become a part of our identity. And we wanted to continue doing that, not only the first part of the possession, but finishing the possession and getting the rebound, shutting them down, making them take tough shots,” McGowan said. “We were never really excited to play defense before, but we definitely are now and want to continue improving that.”

On the flip side, Achufusi believes the offensive side of the Polar Bears game has lots of room for improvement.

“Although our offense has been solid, I think it could be better,” Achufusi said. “[We’re] trying to stay as sharp on that end as possible and making sure that we’re always getting good shots and having good possessions.”

Ray Cuevas ’28 noted other aspects of the team’s play that have supported the team’s successes.

“I think the biggest thing was just playing with pace and controlling the rebounds. The team did a pretty good job crashing the offensive rebounds, but we did a better job at boxing out and controlling the area and playing faster than they wanted to play. That also helped with hustle, another team who likes to play scrappy and get out and run,” Cuevas said.

Reflecting on areas of improvement, the team is hoping to reduce turnovers.

“Execution versus pressure is going to be really important, and cutting down on our turnovers,” Lloyd said.

McGowan reinforced Lloyd’s point, adding that it helps the team stay in control.

“[Reducing turnovers] allows us to control the game the way we want to play it,” McGowan said.

Though the team begins NESCAC conference games in January, non-conference play has an important role in the team’s preparation.

“Each of these games offers us some insight into areas that we can continue to improve on and  areas that we’re doing well to kind of guide us as we’re making decisions for where we want to focus and direct our attention, ” Lloyd said.

After the team’s loss against Bates, it looks forward to playing Carnegie Mellon University (5–1) tomorrow in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Looking towards the future, the Polar Bears are determined to keep up the hard work and focus that helped them get off to a strong start.

“I think there’s just a level of urgency that everyone had going into the year as a group and from the off season, like how hard guys are going in the weight room to the preseason practices, everyone has been really locked in, so it’s easy to keep the intensity up when everyone has collective buy-in,” Achufusi said.

Achufusi reiterated the team’s commitment, highlighting how confidence has helped him and his teammates climb to the top this season.

“We’ve had success because of the hard work that we’ve done, not because we can just roll the ball out and win games,” Achufusi said. “Instead of us being complacent, it’s more so us being confident that what we’re doing is working and having enough focus and discipline to keep doing that.”