NEWTON, Mass. (11/17/15) – The Lasell College men's basketball team held No. 10 Babson College until the final two minutes of play to fall just short 74-72 in its 2015 season opener in the Athletic Center Gym. The Lasers shift to 0-1 on the year while Babson advances to 3-0 this season.

STAT LEADERS FOR LASELL    

• Four Lasers scored in double digits on the night, highlighted by 16 points and eight rebounds from senior Logan Liberty (Duxbury, Vt.).  
• Senior Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) went 6-for-10 from the floor and 1-for-2 from downtown for 13 points, while junior Pat Marchand (Cranston, R.I.) and sophomore Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) each contributed 12 points apiece.
  
  
  

STAT LEADERS FOR BABSON

• Junior Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) continued his offensive spurt from Babson's last game vs. Anna Maria (27 points) and registered his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 11 rebounds.
• Junior Isaiah Nelson (North Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) scored 11 points each – Nelson turning in a double-double with 10 caroms – while junior Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) sank 14 points.
  
  
  

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Five minutes into the contest, Bradley sank a jumper to give the visitors a 13-4 advantage. The Lasers strung together three consecutive shots from downtown – a pair from Arsenault, one from sophomore Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) to trail the visitors by just two points, 26-24.
• Junior Armin Omanovic (Wilkesboro, N.C.) used two good shots from the charity stripe to knot the game at 28, where the Lasers took the lead until the final two.
• With 14:11 on the clock, Lasell closed an 11-3 run and owned its largest lead of the game 51-42.
• Flannery found Droney with 1:52 left to go to creep up on the Lasers 70-70, however Liberty answered with a jumper of his own to deadlock the game at 72-all.
• With five seconds left to go, Flannery drew a foul from the Lasers, and sunk the final two shots of the game to give the No. 10 Beavers a 74-72 win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

• Lasell outshot the Beavers from the field 47.5% to 41.3%, and dominated long-range shooting 33.3% to 15.4%.
• The Beavers held a slim 40-37 advantage in rebounds, while the Lasers contributed 12 points off the pine compared to the visitors' eight.

WHAT'S NEXT

• The Lasers will face Keene State in their first road test on Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 p.m.
• The Beavers will host Elms College at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 21.