NEWTON, Mass. (11/20/17) -- The Lasell College men's basketball fell to Brandeis University 82-77 in non-conference play Monday evening at the Athletic Center.
Four Lasers finished the game in double figures despite the home court loss. Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) led the Lasers with 24 points accompanied by two assists and four rebounds.
Junior Brandon Vila (Jersey City, N.J.) continued his success on the glass, grabbing a team-high 11 rebounds, seven on the defensive end. Vila also contributed six points, three assists, and one block. Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) and Victor Collazo (Clearwater, Fla.) each chipped in 12 points. Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) chipped in a team-high 10 assist along with 10 points for the Lasers. Lasell narrowly out-rebounded Brandeis 42-40.
Lawrence Sabir ( Pawtucket, R.I.) recorded a game-high 26 points, along with two assists, five rebounds and two steals for the Judges. Latye Workman (Brooklyn, N.Y.) finished with 16 points on 12-14 shooting from the floor to accompany his game-high 15 rebounds. Semih Say (Istanbul, Turkey) added 14 points, four rebounds and four steals and Akim Sanni (Portsmouth, N.H.) tapped in 10 points, three rebounds for the visitors.
Brandeis quickly jumped out to a 6-0 lead just 2:19 into the contest. Lasell would continue to claw their way back into the game, finally taking their first lead of the game with 4:13 remaining in the first as Arsenault connected on a three-pointer to take a 31-29 advantage.
Lasell would maintain their success to finish out the first half and took a 44-39 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Lasers faced early foul trouble. Lasell finished the nonconference loss with five players with three or more personal fouls. Brandeis took advantage of their plentiful free-throw opportunities, shooting 31-43 from the line.
With 9:45 remaining in the second half, Workman connected on both free-throws to take a 59-58 lead for the Judges, one they would maintain for the remainder of the game.
The Lasers would continue to battle, but could not regain the lead. Lasell would cut the deficit to 80-77 off of an Arsenault lay-up, but Brandeis would seal the deal with a pair of free-throws with 8 seconds remaining to clinch the victory.
Brandeis and Lasell are back in action versus non-conference opponents out of the Little East Conference on November 28th. The Judges travel to UMass-Dartmouth for a 7:00p.m. Tip, while the Lasers hit the road to Keene State at 6:00p.m.