NEWTON, Mass. (2/24/17) – On Saturday, February 25, the Lasell College men's basketball team will travel to New Haven, Conn. for its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship since 2008.
Tipoff between the Lasers and conference front-runner Albertus Magnus is set for 1:00 p.m. inside The Nest, and can be viewed live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/albertus/. Admission for the championship event is free.
Lasell enters the contest riding double momentum from both the GNAC quarter and semifinals, most recently upsetting the second-seeded Wildcats of Johnson & Wales, 68-61, Thursday evening. The Lasers captured their sixth straight win, and enter the championship round with an overall record of 19-8.
Lasell overcame a 15-point deficit out of halftime en route to the semifinal victory over defending conference champions, Johnson & Wales. In a 45-point second half effort, senior John Powell (Ashland, Mass.) and sophomore Tim Blair (Newington, Conn.) combined for 16 points of a 20-4 run to dig Lasell out of a hefty deficit.
In the fading minutes of the contest, junior Derek McMahon (Hatfield, Mass.) sunk a jumper, and teamed up with Yordan Villalon (Miami, Fla.) and Powell to keep the buckets flowing in Lasell's favor. The Lasers' defense stymied the Wildcats until the final 3:14, where Matt Madoian made a three pointer to regain the lead, 58-57, but a final 12-6 run secured the upset, and grants Lasell a ticket to the championship round.
Head coach Aaron Galletta will see his second GNAC championship, as the 07-08 Lasers rode a 20-9 season, and were crowned champions, 86-72, against Emerson College. In his 11 years as head coach, Galletta has taken his teams to the conference postseason tournament nine times.
Conversely, the top seeded Falcons are riding an eight-game win streak, having lost their last game and just fourth overall, on Jan. 28 at Saint Joseph's (Me.). Albertus seeks its seventh conference title, coming off a 20-6 record in 15-16, where the Wildcats took the title for their own, 86-75.
Six-time GNAC Player of the Week Jaqhawn Walters registered his 22nd double-double last night in the Falcons' 107-68 takeover against Mount Ida, scoring 23 points with 10 boards. Walters leads the conference in rebounds per game (13.6) and total rebounds (353), but sits behind Lasell senior guard Armin Omanovic (Wilkesboro, N.C.) in total points.
Omanovic led the Lasers in both previous games against the Falcons, dropping 21 and 31 points in the drawbacks. Classmates Powell and Villalon were equal contributing factors, as Powell dropped 16 and 23 points in the meetings, while Villalon grabbed 17 rebounds over both games.
Saturday afternoon's victor will secure an automatic bid in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.