MBK: Lasell falls to Tufts; Masciarelli, Vanderhorst combine for 36 points for Lasers

MBK: Lasell falls to Tufts; Masciarelli, Vanderhorst combine for 36 points for Lasers

MEDFORD, Mass. – The Lasell University men's basketball team was defeated by a New England Small Conference Athletic Conference (NESCAC) team for the second straight outing Thursday evening, falling to Tufts University, 96-65, in non-conference action is Cousens Gym.

Senior Eric Savage scored his 1,000th career point for Tufts, finishing with 18 points to become the 32nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. Tufts, which received votes in this week's D3hoops.com poll, improves to 3-0 with the win, while Lasell is now 0-5 after the setback. 

Senior Stefan Masciarelli (Northbridge, Mass.) and junior Kevin Vanderhorst (Lawrence, Mass.) combined for 36 points and 13 rebounds for the Lasers. Masciarelli scored 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting and grabbed five boards, and Vanderhorst contributed 12 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Juniors Dylan Murray (Williston, Fla.) and Vic Collazo (Clearwater, Fla.) added seven points apiece.

Sophomore Tyler Aronson and junior Brennan Morris both made back-to-back threes for Tufts early in the game, and then Savage added another from downtown.  Sophomore Carson Cohen followed that with a layup and the Jumbos were ahead, 19-4, about four minutes into the game.  

The Lasers got a layup from senior Brandon Vila (Jersey City, N.J.) and Vanderhorst and Masciarelli made back-to-back jumpers to cut the lead to ten, 26-16.  But the Jumbos answered with two layups from Rogers and another from Savage, and then Savage added a three to put the Jumbos ahead by 19, 35-16. The Jumbos would lead by as many as 25 during the first half, and took a 52-30 lead into the break. 

The Lasers came out of the intermission and got a layup from Vanderhorst and then another from junior Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) to cut the lead to 18.  But, that would be as close as they would get. The Jumbos never let up in the second half, leading by as many as 32 on their way to a 96-65 win.  

Both teams are back in action this Saturday, November 23, as Tufts hosts St. Joseph (Conn.) for a 2 p.m. tip off and Lasell hosts MIT with a 3 p.m. start at the Athletic Center.

(Contributions from Tufts Athletic Communications)

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