Newton, MA - Lasell men's basketball faced Worcester State on Monday evening at the Athletic Center.

The Lasers went back and forth with the Lancers early in the first few minutes with Lasell trailing 9-5 going into the first media timeout. Out of the timeout, Quinton Partee snatched an offensive rebound and put back a tough and-one, which he sunk the free throw and then split a pair of free throws the next trip down which knotted the game at 9-9. This sparked the beginning of a 14-2 Laser run in which they flipped the 9-5 score to a 19-11 Laser lead. However, after opening the 8-point lead, the Lancers would respond with a run of their own scoring 13 of the next 16 and taking a 2-point lead 24-22 with 6:35 left in the half. The game then slowed down significantly as each team struggled to score for the remainder of the half, with the Lasers trailing by 1, 31-30 going into the break. 

In the second half, Worcester opened a 5-point lead 37-32 in the opening minutes. After some back and forth of getting to within a point or two Lasell regained the lead on a steal and layup by Che Hanks. A subsequent steal and assist by Hanks to Esmer Madesko forced Worcester to call a timeout after the quick Lasell burst. Just under the 11-minute mark, Lasell held a 51-48 lead when a combination of scores from Andy and Esmer Madesko stretched the lead up to 11, making it 61-50 on a 9-2 stint from the brothers. A few minutes later, Marcus Lewis would get hit with a drop-off pass under the basket giving the Lasers a 13-point edge which was too much for the Lancers to overcome with just a few minutes left on the clock. The Lasers would hold their lead taking a 74-63 win. 

The starting backcourt for the Lasers of Che Hanks and Esmer Madesko led the scoring column for Lasell with 15 and 16 points. Andy Madesko and Marcus Lewis also posted double figures with 12 and 11 points. Quinton Partee Jr. posted a near double-double with 9 points to go along with 11 rebounds and Andy Madesko was a rebound shy of a double-double as well. Esmer Madesko had a game-high 9 assists as he flirted with a double-double of his own. 

Up Next - Lasell will have a week and half off before heading down to Florida to play to games versus Geneva and Concordia Wisconsin.