Men's Basketball: Balanced scoring attack powers Lasers to 112-55 victory over Elms

Photo by Janard Jones
Photo by Janard Jones

NEWTON, Mass. – All of the starters for the Lasell Unviersity men's basketball team scored in double figures during a dominant victory over Elms, 112-55, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup Monday at the Lasell Athletic Center.

"Our defense was the reason we were able to get off to a quick start tonight," said Lasell University Men's Basketball Head Coach Aaron Galletta. "I thought the energy was very good right from the start. We shared the basketball and got a lot of guys involved. It was a good team win."

Senior guard Kevin Nunez led the way for the Lasers (10-5, 7-2 GNAC) with 23 points. Senior guard EJ Day was close behind with 22 points and had his first collegiate double-double with 10 assists, to go along with four steals. Graduate student Kevin Vanderhorst kept up his dominance on the boards, following a 27-rebound effort with 26 rebounds and 10 points. Freshman guard Karim Belhouchet added 15, while sophomore forward Tate Niemela scored 13. Senior guard DaVon Bradley scored 10 points in 10 minutes off the bench.

Senior Tahquell Cadle scored 22 points off the bench for the Blazers (1-13, 1-8 GNAC).

The Lasers scored the first nine points of the game, six of which came from Niemela in the opening 3:32. Lasell kept it rolling after the hot start, scoring 23 of the first 27 points to jump out to a 19-point lead with just under nine minutes gone. The teams played evenly throughout the remainder of the half. Elms was unable to cut into the lead, but Lasell was not able to add and took a 19-point lead into halftime.

Belhouchet scored 13 of his 15 in the half for Lasell and Cadle scored 16 of his 22 for Elms. Day and Nunez also scored double-figure points in the first half.

The Lasers got off to another quick start in the second half, scoring 15 of the first 18 points to push their lead to 31 with just under four minutes off the clock. After a bucket by the Blazers, the Lasers followed up with 17 unanswered points to pull out a 46-point lead. From that point forward it was smooth sailing for the Lasers as they reached the 100-point mark for the second time this year and came one point shy of tying the school record for points in a game.

The Lasers will be back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 26, when they play host to GNAC-foe Regis at 7:30 p.m.

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