FITCHBURG, Mass. – The Lasell College men's basketball team dropped its season opener to Fitchburg State University Saturday afternoon, 85-74, in non-conference action at the Parkinson Gymnasium.

Junior Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) led Lasell with a 24 points along with seven assists and three rebounds, while sophomore Dylan Murray (Williston, Fla) chipped in with 19 points off the bench.

Fitchburg took a 12-5 lead early in the contest as junior guard Kewan Platt (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) sparked the Falcons with five of the 12 points, while senior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished the run with a one-handed dunk.

Lasell responded, knotting the score at 18-18 on a pair of treys from Murray. The Green and Gold extended the lead (34-25) as Platt and Tracy combined for an 8-1 run before the Lasers cut the deficit to five on a jumper by sophomore Liam Jacobs (Plainfield, Conn.) to make the score 29-34 going into the break.

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State upped its margin (58-38) on a dunk from Platt with 11:30 to play in the second half. Senior Johnathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.) potted eight points while Tracy chipped in with four over the eight-minute span.

Lasell made it an eight point game (68-60) with a pair of free throws from Masciarelli with 4:24 to play. The Falcons secured the first win of the season outscoring the visitors (17-14) down the stretch, en-route to the 85-74 final.

Falcons host the Bison of Nichols College on Tuesday at 6pm, while the Lasers will entertain the Pride of Regis College on Monday in their home opener for a 7:00 pm start.

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