NEWTON, Mass. (12/7/13) – The Lasell College men's basketball team picked up their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory of the season with an 82-66 defeat of visiting Emmanuel College. The Lasers improved to 3-4 on the year and 2-1 in GNAC action, while Emmanuel dropped to 1-6 for the year and 0-2 in conference play.
Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.) led all scorers with 33 points and 14 rebounds, shooting 12-17 from the floor and 4-6 from three point territory. Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) was the only other Lasell player in double figures, chipping in 14 points, and Jeremy Daniel (Bridgeport, Conn.) added nine points and six assists.
Philkwan Tate (Bloomfield, Conn.) paced the Saints with 15 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots. John Clay (Westport, Mass.) added eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds for Emmanuel, and James Sullivan (Wethersfield, Conn.) chipped in nine points for Emmanuel.
Trailing 8-4 in the early going, Niba jump-started a 13-0 run with a three pointer to help Lasell to a 17-8 lead with 13:01 remaining in the half. Lasell continued to pull ahead, leading 38-20 at the half by holding Emmanuel to 24.1% shooting from the floor while forcing 13 turnovers. The Lasers 41.9% from the floor in the opening half, while making 9-10 from the charity stripe.
Lasell opened up the second half with four straight points to push their advantage to 22 points before Emmanuel clamped down on the defensive end. The Saints went on a 13-4 run, cutting the Lasers lead to 46-33 before a three point play by Ortiz stopped the run. Lasell led 54-39 before Niba went on a personal 9-0 run bookending a three point play with a pair of three pointers to give Lasell a 63-39 lead.
Emmanuel trimmed the Lasers lead to 14 with under a minute to play but were unable to get the deficit into single digits as Lasell captured the 82-66 victory.
Lasell will close out their first semester schedule on Tuesday December 10th, when they host Wheelock college at 8:00 p.m. Emmanuel returns to action on December 10th when they host GNAC foe Mount Ida College at 7:30 p.m. in their final contest before winter break.