NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Dannie Moore (Orlando, Fla.) and junior Tim Blair (Newington, Conn) combined for 38 points and 19 rebounds Thursday evening as Lasell College held off Emmanuel College, 82-73, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball game at the Lasell Athletic Center.
Moore scored a career-high 20 points, making 7-of-9 shots, and grabbed eight rebounds, while Blair added his second double-double of the season with 18 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, which included four three-pointers. Senior Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) and sophomore Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass) chipped in with 16 points apiece in the Laser victory.
Lasell won its third game in a row to remain unbeaten in GNAC play at 3-0 (5-7 overall), while Emmanuel slides to 1-12 overall and 0-4 in conference games.
Freshman Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) topped all scorers with 24 points for the Saints, connecting on 10-of-16 shots. Classmate Zachary Crisafulli (Hatfield, Mass.) added 13 points and seniors Colin Cordero (Bolton, Conn.) and Alex Minetti (Wakefield, R.I.) contributed nine points each in the setback.
Lasell enjoyed a comfortable lead most of the first half, taking a double-digit margin six minutes in after back-to-back three-pointers by Arsenault. The Lasers led by 17 three times in the half, the last with nine minutes remaining (31-14) after a bucket by Masciarelli. Emmanuel hung tough and got the margin down to 10 points at the intermission, 47-37.
The visitors came out strong in the second half, scoring the first seven points, capped by a traditional three-point play by Crisafulli, to whittle the deficit down to three points, 47-44. Emmanuel came back to tie the game at 53-all with 13 minutes to play after consecutive baskets by Crisafulli and junior Ira Lough (North Smithfield, R.I.)
It was tied at 59 with nine minutes on the clock when Blair hit a three for Lasell to give the Lasers the lead for good. After Fox hit a shot for Emmanuel to make it a one-point game (62-61), Lasell scored 10 straight points to get the margin back up to double digits (72-61). Included in the Laser rally was a traditional three-point play and a long-range three-pointer by Moore.
Emmanuel would not go away and got the margin back down to five points three times in the last four minutes, the last coming with less than a minute remaining, but Masciarelli and Arsenault hit four straight free throws for Lasell to close out the win.
The Lasers overcame 19 turnovers by shooting 50 percent from the field (27-of-54) and making 10 shots from beyond the arc to just one for Emmanuel (1-12), and Lasell won the battle of the boards, 41-32.
Lasell looks for its fourth straight conference win Saturday, Jan. 13, at Johnson & Wales University (3:00 p.m.) while Emmanuel returns home to host Albertus Magnus College Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. conference matchup.
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