Newton, MA- In an intense, action packed Great Northeast
Athletic Conference men's basketball showdown, the Emerson College
Lions prevailed, 80-70, over the Lasell College Lasers, Thursday
night at the Lasell College Athletic Center. Bryan Rouse
(East Greenwich, RI) led the Lions to their 15th season victory
with 35 points, while Javon Williams (Mattapan,
MA) put up 25 points and tore down 11 rebounds for the Lasers in
the defeat.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair which included nine ties
and eight lead changes. Lasell opened the game with a 2-0
advantage on a Williams lay-in, but Rouse answered with a bucket of
his own down low to tie the score. The teams traded baskets
for over four minutes before Alex Dempsey (Anchorage, AK) made an
and-one play to give the Lions their first lead of the game, 9-8,
with 15:57 on the clock. In the following possession,
Lasell's Aaron Bray (Boston, MA) penetrated to the
hoop, drawing the foul and making both free throws to regain
control of the board. Back-to-back three-pointers by Bray and
Dominik Orlow (Slupsk, Poland) put Lasell ahead
16-11 at the 12:45 mark, but the Lions came back to tie it up at
16-all after freebies by Rouse with ten minutes left In the
half.
Lasell regained control of the scoreboard until the 6:17 mark when
a trey by Emerson's Dan Boylan (Royal Oak, MI) put the visitors
ahead 24-23. The Lions pulled ahead by six, 36-30, the largest lead
of the half by either team, with five consecutive points by key
reserve Drew Venter (Boston, MA) with two minutes left before the
break. The Lasers went on a 8-1 run, which included
three-pointers by Orlow and Adam Topel (Boca
Raton, FL), to close the half with a one point advantage,
38-37.
Williams opened the second half with another bucket in the
paint. Rouse returned the favor on the opposite end of
the court to hold the Lasers to just a one point edge, and his
second layup of the half knotted the score once more at 43-all.
After three more ties, Bray penetrated through traffic to sink a
bucket, giving Lasell a 51-49 lead, at 13:18. Kabir Moss
(Chico, CA) drained a three to put Emerson ahead, and the Lions
used the momentum to carry them on a 9-0 run, pulling away from the
Lasers, 59-51. At the five minute mark, the Lions held a
double-figure edge, 67-56. Lasell cut their deficit to just
six points after Topel nailed another shot from beyond the arc, but
that was as close as Lasell would get over the final four
minutes. Emerson hit 9-of-11 free throws in the final minutes
to take as much as a 13 point lead before the final buzzer
sounded.
Venter contributed 11 points and six boards to the Lions and Jeremy
Shannon (Lowell, MA) added seven points, five rebounds, and five
assists. Emerson shot 50% over the course of the contest
(27-for-54), including a 54.2% second half field goal
percentage.
Bray and Topel each notched 11 points for the Lasers in the
defeat. Bray added three assists and two steals.
Orlow and Justin Harris (New Orleans, LA) matched
for eight points a piece. Lasell shot 53.6% in the first, but
just 37.8% in the second, and finished with a 44.6% field goal
average.
Emerson is now 15-7 overall and 12-3 in GNAC play, while Lasell
falls to 8-14 overall and 6-9 in the conference. The Lasers
return to action on Saturday, February 13th against St. Joseph's
College of Maine for another conference rivalry. The contest
will be played on the Lasers home court at 2:00 p.m. and will mark
the senior day for Lasell's two senior athletes, Sean
Joynes (Philadephia, PA) and Charles
Horton (Detriot, MI).