NEWTON, MA- Lasell College mounted a 26-10 run late in the second half to tie Wednesday night's Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's basketball contest with Mount Ida College before prevailing, 85-78, in overtime.
The Lasers were down by 16 points with 10:45 remaining in regulation before eventually wearing the Mustangs down to a 70-all stalemate as time expired in the second period. Lasell would lead the entire extra session, with the exception of one tie, at 78-all, before Mount Ida succumbed to an 85-78 defeat.
Lasell's sophomore forward Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA) had the performance of the night, scoring 29 of his game and career-high 37 points in the second half of the GNAC contest. Williams also pulled down nine boards, dished two assists, rejected two shots, and made a game-high six steals. GNAC rookie of the week Justin Harris (New Orleans, LA) also scored in double-figures, notching 16 points, distributing five assists and grabbing four rebounds. Charles Bennett (Red Bank, NJ), Brett Heimann (Miami, FL), and Dominik Orlow (Slupsk, Poland) each recorded nine points for Lasell, and senior forward Sean Joynes (Philadelphia, PA) made a game-high ten grabs off the backboard.
Mount Ida saw four players in double figures with Keith Jones (Boston, MA), Isiah Benjamin (Windsor, CT), and John Figueroa (Hartford, CT) all chipping in 13 points each and a combined 11 rebounds. Senior Darren Martinez (Dorchester, MA/Brookline) notched 11 points and six assists while sophomore Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) netted seven points and added 10 rebounds.
Mount Ida took the lead off the opening tip, 3-0, with an and-one play by Martinez in the paint. The Mustangs held the Lasers to just three points during the first eight minutes of the game, and took a ten point lead, 19-9, with 8:49 on the clock. Mount Ida took a half-high lead of 11 points at 7:27 when Figueroa finished off a fast break layup.
Within the next two minutes, Lasell cut the Mustangs advantage down to within four points, 25-21, capped off with a Bennett jumper on the wing. A buzzer-beating trifecta by Harris left Lasell trailing by three points at the half, 35-32.
Mount Ida came out and ignited a 10-2 run in the opening three minutes of the second half. Lasell trailed by as much as 16, with 10:45 left to play in the second, on a Nick Lynch (Hampton Bays, NY) three-point field goal. It was at this point that Lasell staged their comeback, putting together a solid 26-10 run to knot the score at 70-all. Williams dropped in Lasell's final regulation bucket with four seconds on the clock to force the extra session. Mount Ida had the final opportunity to finish off the game, but their attempt fell short.
Lasell took an immediate lead in the final stanza on a Harris bucket, before the Mustangs tied the score at 78-all on a couple of freebies by Martinez, with under a minute to play. Lasell hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to finalize the victory, 85-78.
The Lasers improve their record to 10-14 overall, 8-9 in the conference. Lasell's final regular season contest will be played at Rivier College on Saturday, February 20th, at 1:00 p.m.