Men’s Hoop Cruises to GNAC Victory

Newton , MA-  Javon Williams (Mattapan, MA) led the Lasers to a 69-53 Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory over Rivier College today in men's basketball action.  Williams scored 24 points, adding four rebounds, and three assists en route to the Lasers fourth conference victory.  Lasell is now 6-9 overall, and 4-4 in the conference, while the Raiders fall to 4-11overall and 1-7 in the league.

Lasell took the lead at 15:33 in the first as Williams grabbed an offensive board and converted the ensuing bucket into a three-point play.  At the ten minute mark, the Lasers had stretched their lead to ten after another Williams bucket in the paint. 

Rivier's junior center Don Poitras (Bow, NH) made good on a full court breakaway, plus one, at 5:59, to close the Raider's deficit to just five points.  Then, with one minute left in the period, a Poitras jumper in the paint made the score 32-29, Lasell's advantage.  It was a Charles Horton (Detroit, MI) three-pointer, followed by a Justin Harris (New Orleans, LA) steal and a fast break layup that gave Lasell an eight point edge at the break, 37-29.

Horton opened the second half with a steal and a fast break in the paint to make the score 40-29. Lasell pushed ahead for a 16 point lead with 9:18 left to play and went up by as much as 19 points by the conclusion of the contest.

Horton concluded the game with 19 points, including four buckets from downtown, as well as five steals.  Harris added nine points and seven boards for Lasell and freshman guard Lance Theard (New Orleans, LA) was strong defensively, producing eight steals in the contest. 

Poitras came up with a double-double, ending with 21 points and 12 rebounds for the visitors. 

Lasell's next contest will be played at home on Tuesday, January 26^th against Mount Ida College. Game time is 8:00 p.m.