Boston, MA - Lasell men's basketball took a trip into the city to face conference opponent Emmanuel.
The Lasers who held a 3-game win streak and undefeated conference record, looked to continue both streaks on Wednesday night. In the opening minutes, neither team could find the basket as the first several possessions ended scoreless. Marcus Lewis put an end to the dry spell however as his layup put the Lasers on the board 2-0. He would actually tally the first 6 Laser points, as he netted buckets on the following two offensive possessions. At this point, the score was 6-5 Lasers, and the lead for either team would be no more than 3 for the next 5 minutes as some good basketball was played on both sides. An Emmanuel made layup just under the 10-minute mark gave them a 5-point edge of 21-16, but within a few minutes, the Lasers tied it up at 29 and then took the lead on back-to-back Esmer Madesko layups. These two baskets by Madesko capped a personal 11-4 run by Madesko from over a 2-minute period where he couldn't be stopped on his way to the hoop. This certainly provided a shift in energy, as by halftime the Lasers took their largest lead of 7, 40-33.
Coming out in the second half Marcus Lewis set the tone like he did in the first opening up the half with two buckets which earned Lasell's first double-digit lead of the game. As soon as the lead was boosted to 10, the Lasers saw the opportunity to break away as an 18-11 spurt had them up 63-46 right around the 12-minute mark. A standout moment of this stretch for the Lasers was at the 14:56 mark, where after forcing a turnover Esmer Madesko led the break with his brother Andy trailing. Seeing the defender retreating, he lobbed the ball up to the rim and watched as his brother got up and stuffed it home. The brotherly connection has been apparent throughout the course of the season thus far, but none of them is as great of an example as this one. After taking command of the game, with a lead as big as 25 at one point, the Lasers strong second showing lifted them to an 89-68 decisive road win.
Esmer Madesko and Marcus Lewis both were very efficient from the field being the top two scorers in the game with 28 and 24 points. Madesko's 28 marked a season-high effort as he looks to collect yet another Rookie of the Week honor. Lewis also had a game-high 10 rebounds giving him a double-double. Andy Madesko had 17 points of his own also providing contributions of 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 steals.
Up Next - The Lasers look to extend their win streak at New England College on Saturday afternoon.