Newton, MA - The Lasell men's basketball team faced off against the Monks of Saint Joseph Maine on Saturday afternoon. 

Both the Monks and the Lasers held top GNAC records coming into the day with the Lasers sitting a 9-1 and the Monks at 8-1. The late-season game would certainly have a lot of playoff implications and determining seeding. The Monks opened up strongly with back-to-back triples and a pair of Karim Belhouchet free throws were the only two Laser points scored on a 10-2 run to start the game for Saint Josephs. The Monks opened up the lead to as many as 13 in the early going but an and-one layup by Daniel Edmonds and consecutive three-pointer brought it back to within single digits. The Lasers weren't able to get any closer for the remainder of the half but hung around and trailed 51-36 going into the half. 

Similar to the first half, a 9-2 run helped the Monks to push the lead to 24 and make it very hard on the Lasers to get back into the game. The Lasers did chip away at one point, getting it down to 16, but did not pull any closer. They would end up taking a 94-71 loss. 

Esmer Madesko led all scorers with 23 points. Daniel Edmonds and Che Hanks were the other two Lasers in double figures Saturday each pouring in 10 points. 

Up Next - The Lasers take a week-long hiatus, with their next matchup coming at home again next Saturday afternoon versus the Cadets of Norwich.