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Ellicott City, MD -- Howard was down, but never out this weekend as the Bison came back from a five stroke deficit to be crowned NEC Men’s Golf champions for the third consecutive year.

The Bison shot an impressive even-par 284 in the final round to win by seven strokes, In doing so, Howard became the first team to three-peat as conference champs in 25 years after carding a nine-over 861 over the three-day tournament at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City, MD.

The race for the runner-up was neck-and-neck until the end as LIU claimed second place by just one stroke over FDU with a 16-over 868 through 54 holes.

Howard was boosted to the team title by top five finishes from juniors Bear Huff and Mathis Perroni. Huff was the tournament individual runner-up after firing a 2-under 211 across three rounds, highlighted by a 2-under 69 over the final 18 holes. Perroni shined on day three for the Bison as he matched a tournament single-round best with a 3-under 68. The junior sank three birdies and an eagle on the day. He finished the tournament tied for fourth with a 3-over 216. Fellow Bison junior Marlon Jones also provided a top 15 performance with a 7-over 220 to tie for 14th place.

As a team, Howard’s 861 stroke total was just two off the tournament 54-hole record, which the Bison set two years ago. Howard was the only team to finish at par or lower on two different days at this year's event.

UMBC (1998-01) was the last team to win three straight NEC crowns.

On the individual leaderboard, LIU’s Arjun Singh Bhatia never took the gas off the pedal after finishing the opening round tied for the lead. The reigning NEC Golfer of the Year was the only athlete to shoot under par in each round and finished the tournament 5-under with a 208 stroke total to capture the individual title. His 54-hole score matched the second-best in tournament history and was just two shy of the record, which was set a year ago by FDU’s Pyae Phyo Thu.

Singh Bhatia matched his round one score on day three as he carded a 2-under for a 69 through the final 18. The junior recorded five birdies in the third round as he was 3-under par until the 17th hole. Singh Bhatia became the first LIU golfer to take home the individual title since his teammate Marcelo Mexsen did so in 2023 and the fifth in program history. He also punched his ticket to NCAA postseason play.

Rounding out the top five individual standings was FDU’s Pietro Maria Piccoli in third (1-under 212), along with fellow Knight Matus Kudlac (3-over 216) and Chicago State’s Kaleb Lambert (3-over 216), who both tied for fourth.

New Haven finished tied for fifth in its NEC Championship debut.

Howard will go onto represent the NEC at NCAA Regionals. The Bison will find out their destination during the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Selection Show on Wednesday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m. ET on the Golf Channel.

Team Standings
1.     Howard - 861
2.     LIU - 868
3.     FDU - 869
4.     Le Moyne -  883
T5.   New Haven - 894 
T5.   UMES - 894
7.     Mercyhurst - 897
8.     NC Central - 898
9.     Chicago State - 900
10.   Wagner - 902
11.   Binghamton - 903
12.   Saint Francis - 924

Individual Standings
1.    Arjun Singh Bhatia, LIU - 69-70-69=208 (-5)
2.    Bear Huff, HU - 69-73-69=211 (-2)
3.    Pietro Maria Piccoli, FDU - 72-71-69=212 (-1)
T4.  Mathis Perroni, HU - 70-78-68=216 (+3)
T4.  Matus Kudlac, FDU - 73-71-72=216 (+3)
T4.  Kaleb Lambert, CSU - 69-75-72=216 (+3)
T7.  Taimur Malik, LIU - 73-69-75=217 (+4)
T7.  Hermann Gavilan, NHVN - 75-68-74=217 (+4)
T9.  Owen Corby, LEM - 72-72-74=218 (+5)
T9.  Evan Rowane, MU - 74-70-74=218 (+5)
T9.  Kyle Gregory, NCCU - 69-72-77=141 (+5)