Newton, MA – The Lasell College men's basketball team defeated the Saints of Emmanuel College in the quarterfinal round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament, 80-73. The Lasers outscored the visitors 40-33 in the second half, taking advantage of their edge on the glass by outscoring Emmanuel 17-9 on second chance points.
Senior forward Javon Williams(Mattapan, MA) scored a game high 25 points to go with 9 rebounds and three blocks to lead the way for Lasell. Williams had plenty of help, sophomore forward Earnest McNeil(Boston, MA) posted his first double-double of the season scoring 11 points to go with his team high 12 rebounds, while Sean Bertanza(Seymour, CT) and Nate DiSessa(Westfield, MA) chipped in with 11 points each.
Emmanuel placed five players in double figures, led by Xavier Everson(Rochester, NY) with 15 points, Brandon Jones(Windsor, CT) scored 14, and Isiah Duke(Albany, NY) added 13. Theo Robinson(Springfield, MA) and Connor Morgan(Chepachet, RI) each chipped in with 11 points, and Robinson led Emmanuel on the glass, grabbing 12 rebounds.
Emmanuel made their first five shots from the floor to build an 11-6 lead just four minutes into the contest. The five point advantage was the biggest lead for either team in the closely contested opening 20 minutes, which featured seven ties and four lead changes. Emmanuel shot 17-30 from the field in the first half, and the Lasers were 14-26 from the floor.
Lasell opened the second half with a 6-0 run, using a layup by Javon Williams and consecutive baskets by Sean Bertanza to take a 46-40 lead. Emmanuel cut the lead to 48-45 following a Brandon Jones layup, but Lasell answered with a 10-0 run to build a 58-45 lead. A three pointer by Connor Morgan and a layup by Brandon Jones cut the hosts advantage to 58-50 with 12:50 remaining.
A transition layup by Javon Williams and four straight points by Nate DiSessa gave Lasell their biggest lead of the game at 64-50, but Emmanuel would respond.
The Saints used an 11-2 run, capped by a Michael Mailhot three pointer to make it a 66-61 lead with 5:28 remaining. A layup by Williams helped Lasell slow the Saints momentum, but an Isiah Duke steal and layup, followed by a Theo Robinson tip cut the Lasell advantage to 68-65 with 2:57 to play.
Nate DiSessa found Frank Apisa(Branchburgh, NJ) for a layup to put the Lasers back up by five, but Isiah Duke answered leaving Lasell with a 70-67 lead with 1:11 on the clock.
Javon Williams made another big play for Lasell, scoring on a driving layup with :54 remaining and converted the free throw for an old fashioned three point play putting Lasell back up by six, 73-67.
Nate DiSessa came up with a deflection and steal, and then converted two free throws to give the Lasers a 75-67 advantage with only 45 seconds on the clock. Connor Morgan hit a three pointer with :37 seconds left, but the Saints comeback fell short as Lasell converted five of six free throws down the stretch to close out the game.
The loss dropped Emmanuel to 12-14 overall on the season, while Lasell improved to 13-13. The Lasers will travel to top seeded Albertus Magnus on Thursday February 23rd at 7pm for a semifinal matchup with the Falcons, who advanced to the GNAC semifinals with an 82-58 win over eighth seeded Emerson.
