Lasers Down Cadets, 82-73

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA) scored a team-high 22 points, adding nine rebounds, and Dominik Orlow (Slupsk, Poland) notched 18 points and six boards as the Lasell College men's basketball team downed Norwich University, 82-73, on Thursday night.   The Lasers and the Cadets are both now 6-7 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, though Norwich holds an 11-9 record and Lasell a 9-11 slate. 

Norwich connected on their first four attempts to jump out to a 9-2 lead.  Lasell responded with a 21-5 run over the next seven minutes, taking a 23-14 advantage with less than ten minutes elapsed. A quick seven point spurt by the Cadets cut into the Lasers lead, and Norwich eventually got within one point of Lasell, 26-25, but the Lasers retaliated to take a seven point halftime advantage, 38-31.

 A quick 12-5 run by Norwich opened the second half as the teams found themselves in a 43-all stalemate at the 15:50 mark.  Lasell reclaimed the seven point edge just seven minutes later; however, the Cadets would not go away without a fight. A three-pointer sparked a 6-0 run by Norwich to trim their disadvantage to only one point, 52-51, with 10:30 left. Norwich got no closer the rest of the way.  Orlow buried a three-point field goal with 45 seconds remaining, followed by the Lasers connecting on five-of-six free throws to close the contest. 

Norwich shot 41.5% from the floor for the game, while Lasell made 47.7% of its shots from the field, including a blistering 55.6% in the second half. The Lasers also held a 10-0 advantage in fast-break points.

In addition to Williams and Orlow, Aaron Bray (Boston, MA) and Justin Harris (New Orleans, LA) also reached double-figures in scoring for Lasell. Bray notched 12 points and Harris tallied 11 points and seven rebounds.  The two rookie guards also combined for seven assists. 

Lasell's next contest will be at Johnson & Wales University, in Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday, February 6th.  The GNAC game will begin at 1:00 p.m.