Newton, Mass. (1/14/15) – Lasell College defeated Suffolk University 73-63 in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference tilt Wednesday evening in the Athletic Center Gymnasium. With the win the Lasers jump to 4-8 (3-4 GNAC) while the Rams fall to 6-8 (3-4 GNAC).
The Lasers were paced by senior guard Brock Walters (Jacksonville, Fla.) who poured in a game-high 18 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) added 12 points and eight rebounds, while Junior guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) added 11 points and pulled two rebounds.
Sophomore center Matt Duquette (Swampscott, Mass.) and junior guard Branden Barboza (Riverside, R.I.) led the Rams with 15 points apiece, while junior forward Jake Meister (Madison, N.J.) finished with 11 points.
Lasell controlled the tempo of the first stanza, outscoring the visitors 37-28. Walters used an opening 3-pointer to take the Lasers on an 11-9 run in the first five. A layup from Rams' freshman forward Quinn McCartney (LaCrosse, Wis.) evened the score out at 11 with 15:30 left, where the Lasers ran away with the lead for the remainder of the game. With 3:22 on the clock, the Lasers used a trio of three-point shots from Walters, junior guard Anthony Simmons (Stamford, Conn.), and senior guard Jeremy Daniel (Bridgeport, Conn.) to edge Suffolk 35-28. Junior guard Adam Chick (Northbrook, Ill.) pulled down an offensive rebound to net the visitors' final layup, trailing Lasell 37-28 at the break.
The Lasers would lead by as much as 18 points in the second stanza with an opening team effort from Walters and Simmons. The two teammates repeated back-to-back shots from downtown with 14:21 left in regulation, putting the Lasers up 50-32.
The Rams improved from 36.7% first-half shooting to 53.6%, trailing in second-stanza points by just one at 36-35. In the final 10 minutes of play, the Rams rallied on the court to put 23 points on the board. At 8:25, Barboza sank a shot from behind the arc to contribute to the Rams' 9-0 run. Cutting the deficit to a mere six points, the Rams were soon avenged by a trio of free throws at the line from O'Brien and four points from Villalon. After a final layup from Mesiter, the Lasers came out with the ten-point victory at 73-63,
Lasell went 23-56 (41.1%) overall, scoring 10-29 (34.5%) from downtown and 17-24 at the FT line (70.8%). Suffolk shot 26.58 (44.8%) from the field, making 5-17 (29.4%) of three-point shots and 6-10 (60%) of their free throw chances.
Both teams jump back into conference action on Saturday, January 17th. The Lasers will travel to Albertus Magnus College for a 3:00 p.m. tip-off, while the Rams host Rivier University at 1:00 p.m.