NEWTON, MA- The Lasell College men's basketball team fell to the reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Champion Albertus Magnus College, 78-58, on Saturday afternoon at the Athletic Center.
Lasell's junior Derrick Harper (Boston, MA) and sophomore Sean Bertanza (Seymour, CT) led the Lasers with 15 points apiece. Harper went 6-for-11 from the field and 3-for-5 from the line. He also grabbed 11 rebounds to produce his first double-double of the season.
For the Falcons, freshman Darius Watson (New Britain, CT) topped all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds, shooting 10-for-14 from the field and 3-for-6 from downtown. Junior Ray Askew (Hamden, CT) and senior Walden St. Juste (Hartford, CT) each tallied a double-double. Askew scored 23 points and secured 13 rebounds and St. Juste recorded 15 points and grabbed 10 boards.
Albertus struck first with a quick three-pointer by Watson and a bucket in the paint by St. Juste. Lasell countered with a 10-2 run capped by Bertanza on a layup to take a five point lead (12-7), at 15:49. The Lasers took a double-figure lead at the 11 minute mark after an 8-0 stretch over a three minute span.
At 10:15, after an and-one play by Demetrious Lambright (Roxbury, MA), Lasell held their largest lead of the game at 26-15. Albertus began to chip away at the Lasers lead, eventually turning a 18-5 scoring streak into a tie at 29-all after a Watson three-point play with 3:12 on the clock. Watson then gave the visitors back the lead, at 2:39, leading to a 37-31 Albertus lead at the end of the first half.
Lasell's defense forced 14 Falcon turnovers which the Lasers converted into 10 points in the frame, while the Falcons earned just six points off Laser turnovers. Albertus held a slight edge in rebounding (20-18) in the half and shot 46.4% from the floor while Lasell shot 40.0%.
The Falcons began the second half with an 8-0 run to gain a 15 point lead. Askew led the scoring streak, with six points. With four minutes off the clock in the second half, Lasell staged a comeback with a 15-3 stretch of their own beginning with back-to-back three's by Robert Roy (Dover, NH) and Jordan Fuller (Oviedo, FL) and capped with a Roy fast break layup off a Lambright steal. The rally brought Lasell within three points with 11:33 remaining to play. Over the following four minutes, the Falcons broke away to reestablish a double-figure lead on a St. Juste trifecta. The Albertus lead expanded to as many as 22 before final outcome.
The visitors scored 22 points in the paint in the period and added 12 points on second chance balls and 12 points off turnovers. Lasell was out-rebounded 55-40 in the contest.
Lasell's leading scorer Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA) ended the game with nine points, which marked the end of an impressive 34-game double-figure scoring streak, dating back to the 2008-2009 season.
Albertus improves to a 3-2 overall record and a 1-0 conference slate. Lasell drops to 0-6 on the year and 0-2 in GNAC play. Lasell will take the court again on Tuesday, December 7th at Babson College. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
