Men's Hoops Season Concludes in GNAC Semifinals

BOSTON, MA - The Lasell College men's basketball team's 2009-2010 season ended in the semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday evening, in a 72-47 loss to second seeded Emerson College at the Brown & Plofker Gym.  The Lasers finish the year with an 11-16 overall record, and the Lions, who hold a 20-7 record, will advance to the finals of the GNAC Tournament against top seeded Albertus Mangus on Saturday, February 27^th.

Emerson held the Lasers to just 23.1% shooting from the field (6-26) and 41.2% at the free throw line (7-17) in the first half, resulting in a Lasell season-low of just 19 points at the break.  The Lions built a 21 point lead, shooting 65% in the opening stanza (23-42), including 75% from beyond the three-point arc (6-8).  

Sophomore Dan Boylan (Royal Oak, MI) and junior Tom Messinger (Florence, MA) did most of the damage from deep for the Lions, with Boylan connecting on 3-of-3 treys in the first twenty minutes, and Messinger drained four long-balls, on seven attempts, throughout the contest.

Lasell shot slightly better in the second half (33.3% from the field, 55.6% from the line), but Emerson extended their lead by continuing to shoot lights-out from the floor.  The Lions had broadened their advantage to thirty points, with 7:22 left in the game. 

The only Laser to hit double-figures in scoring was sophomore forward Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA), who tied for the game-high of 13 points, while also pulling down eight rebounds. Sophomore forward Dominik Orlow (Slupsk, Poland) tallied eight points and freshman guard Adam Topel (Boca Raton, FL) added seven points in the defeat.

It was Williams who made a quick jump shot to give Lasell the first lead of the game, but a layup by Nathan Firn (Waldesboro, NC) equalized the score for Emerson in the next play.  A Messinger three-pointer off a Laser turnover launched the hosts on a 13-1 run and the Lasers remained in arrears from that point forward.  Emerson produced a double-digit lead by the 13 minute mark in the first half, which doubled by the intermission (40-19). 

Emerson scored the first five points of the second half on a Messinger three-ball and a Firn baseline layup.  Four points by Orlow in the paint followed by a Justin Harris (New Orleans, LA) three dropped the margin back to 19 points.  An Al Dempsey (Anchorage, AK) three triggered a 13-2 Emerson run over the next seven minutes that sealed the final outcome.

Jeremy Shannon (Lowell, Mass.) had a double-double for Emerson with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Messinger and Boylan finished with a dozen each.