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Pine Mountain, GA -- After knocking on the door last year, Howard left no doubt in its quest for the program's first NEC men's golf championship.

The Bison put together a wire-to-wire victory at Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA and did it in record-breaking fashion.

Howard finished the 54-hole meet on the par-72 course at 5-under with a team score of 859. The stellar performance not only clinched the title but also shaved 10 strokes off the previous conference standard. The former record, set by Wagner and Bryant in 2016, stood at 5-over 869 over three rounds.

Howard pulled away for a comfortbale 12-stroke win over LIU and Sacred Heart. Both the Sharks and Pioneers finished at 7-over 871. North Carolina Central posted the best round of the day, shooting 2-over to move up three spots and claim fourth place with an 894 team score.

Sacred Heart star Marcus Lim (Selangor, Malaysia/UCSI International School) made sure the Howard squad wasn't the only one to leave the championship with a record in tow.

In adding a second NEC individual title to his Hall of Fame resume, Lim established a new 54-hole meet record. The senior shot 8-under 208 over three rounds to earn a two-stroke win over LIU's Lewis Wright (Brentwood Essex, England/St Martin's School), who finished at 6-under 210. Both golfers broke the previous conference record, initially set by SHU's Anthony Campanile with a 4-under 212 in 2008. It was matched by CCSU's Eric Hawerchuk in 2009 and LIU's Marcelo Mexsen (Torreon, Mexico/Instituto Cumbres de Torreon) in 2023. Saint Francis U's Eric Couture shot 7-under 135 in 2003 when the event was contested over two rounds.

Lim, a two-time NEC Player of the Year, won the NEC individual crown in 2022, and finished fourth in 2021 and eighth in 2023.
 
In total, four golfers shot under par at the championship.

Howard's depth was on display all weekend as the Bison placed four golfers in top-10. Graduate student Gregory Odom Jr. (Memphis, TN/Middle College (Memphis)) shot even par during the final round to move up three spots and finish tied for third at 1-under 215. He was the runner-up at the 2023 NEC Championship. Freshman Bear Huff (Riverside, CA/Martin Luther King, Jr.) tied for fifth at even par 216, Marcus Smith (Rockford, IL/Winnebago (Eastern Michigan)) tied for seventh at 1-over 216 and Everett Whiten Jr. (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge (Hampton)) took the 10th spot at 2-over 218 for the Bison.

Wright cut into Lim's lead during the final round, but could not draw closer than two strokes, shooting even par for the day. His runner-up finish marked the first top-10 showing of the two-time All-NEC honoree's career at the conference event. Mexsen, the 2023 NEC indidiual title winner, dropped four spots on Sunday, but still managed to finish in a seventh place tie at 1-over 217. 

The biggest mover of the afternoon was NC Central's Iszac Bertagnole (Pinehurst, NC/Pinecrest), who jumped six spots into a third place tie. Bertagnole shot 2-under 70 for the day and 1-under 215 across 54 holes.

Binghamton's Evan Sitts (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta) fired a 1-under 71 on Sunday and claimed a share of fifth place, carding an ever par 216.

FDU’s Pyae Phyo Thu (Myanmar) also posted a top-10 finish, tying for seventh at 1-over 217. He shot 1-under on the afternoon.

The low round of the day went to Wagner's Thomas Choi (São Paulo, Brazil/Inova-Ação), who shot 4-under 68.

Howard will go on to represent the NEC at the 2024 NCAA Championship in regional round play. The field will be announced on Wednesday, May 1 at 2 pm on the Golf Channel. Regional round play takes place from May 13-15 in Austin, TX, Baton Rouge, LA, Chapel Hill, NC, Rancho Santa Fe, CA, Standford, CA and West Lafayette, IN.

Final Team Standings
1. Howard - 283-278-298=859 (-5)
2T. LIU - 285-283-303=871 (+7)
2T. Sacred Heart - 288-292-291=871 (+7)
4. NC Central - 303-301-290-=894 (+30)
5. Binghamton - 300-299-301=900 (+36)
6. Le Moyne - 300-299-304=933 (+39)
7. FDU - 294-309-308=911 (+47)
8. Wagner - 307-302-303=912 (+48)
9. Merrimack - 307-308-301=916 (+52)
10. UMES - 312-319-315=946 (+82)
11. Saint Francis U - 315-319-329=963 (+99)

Final Top-10 Individual Standings
1. Marcus Lim, SHU - 65-68-75=208 (-8)
2. Lewis Wright, LIU - 66-72-72=210 (-6)
T3. Iszac Bertagnole, NCC - 71-74-70=215 (-1)
T3. Gregory Odom Jr., HOW - 72-71-72=215 (-1)
T5. Evan Sitts, BING - 74-71-71=216 (E)
T5. Bear Huff, HOW - 72-68-76=216 (E)
T7. Pyae Phyo Thu, FDU - 69-77-71=217 (+1)
T7. Marcus Smith, HOW - 70-74=73=217 (+1)
T7. Marcelo Mexsen, LIU - 74-66-77=217 (+1)
10. Everett Whiten Jr., HOW - 69-71-78=218 (+2)