Amherst, Mass. (11/27/12) - The Lasell College men's basketball came up short in their attempt to knock off #6 Amherst College, falling 84-69 on the road. The loss drops Lasell to 1-3 on the season, while the Lord Jeffs improve to 4-0 with the victory.
Junior Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored 23 points and added a team-high four assists for the Lasers, while senior Sean Bertanza (Seymour, Conn.) scored 20 points and pulled down a team-high four rebounds. Junior Drew Roberts (New Haven, Conn.) added 11 points in 25 minutes off the bench for Lasell, who shot 23-48 from the field and 10-22 from three point land.
The Lord Jeffs placed five players in double figures led by Aaron Toomey (Greensboro, N.C.) with a game-high 27 points and Willy Workman (Northampton, Mass.) finishing with a 13 point, 10 rebound and six assist effort. Peter Kaasila (Plaistow, N.H.) chipped in with 12 points on 6-9 shooting, while Connor Green Bedford, N.H.) and David Kalema (Burke, Va.) added 13 and 10 points respectively off the bench.
Lasell opened the game on an 8-0 run through the first four minutes of the contest, only to watch the hosts respond. After falling behind 8-0, the Lord Jeffs scored 15 of the next 17 points to take a 15-10 lead with 11:43 remaining in the opening half.
The two teams traded baskets over the next several possessions, and Lasell closed to within one, at 28-27 thanks to four straight points from Arthur Alexander (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) with 2:02 to play in the opening half. A Connor Green three pointer sent Amherst into the half with a 31-27 lead.
The second half followed a similar pattern through the first 10 minutes of action, Amherst would push their edge to six or eight points, only to see Lasell claw back and refuse to allow the hosts to close the game out. A pair of Rob Roy (Dover, N.H.) free throws drew Lasell within three points at 52-49, but that would be the closest they would get the rest of the way.
Amherst scored eight straight points and 14 of the next 17 points to pull ahead 66-52 with six minutes to play. Back-to-back three's from Bertanza trimmed the score to 68-58, but Amherst was able to close the game out at the free throw line.
Up next, Amherst will travel to Westfield State on Friday and Saturday for a pair of games against Elms and Springfield in the Pioneer Valley Classic. Lasell will continue their difficult non-conference schedule when they visit WPI on Thursday November 29th at 7 p.m. to do battle with the Engineers who are undefeated at 5-0.