Lasell Clipped in GNAC Opener by #23 Albertus Magnus

New Haven, Conn. (12/1/12) - The Lasell College men's basketball team narrowly missed knocking off the 23rd ranked team in the country on Saturday afternoon, falling 81-77 at Albertus Magnus in their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference game of the year. The loss moved Lasell to 1-5 on the season and 0-1 in GNAC play, while Albertus Magnus remained undefeated at 4-0, and 1-0 in the league.

Lasell senior Sean Bertanza (Seymour, Conn.) led all scorers with a season-high 38 points on 12-22 from the floor, including 4-9 from three point territory and a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe. Rob Watts (Lafayette, N.J.) was the only other Laser in double figures, finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds.

Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.) paced the Falcons with 29 points and six rebounds, while James Jennings (Stratford, Conn.) finished with 18 points and five assists. Kenny Armstead (Brooklyn, N.Y.) came off the bench for Albertus Magnus to score 13 points and grab a game-high 15 rebounds.

Lasell held a 22-5 advantage in points off turnovers, which was offset by Albertus shooting 21-33 from the foul line compared to 10-12 at the stripe for Lasell.

A back-and-forth opening 20 minutes saw 10 lead changes and neither team able to take a lead of greater than five points, when the Falcons led 5-0 to start the game. Bertanza was 5-8 from the floor for 16 points in the opening half, helping Lasell take a 36-34 lead into intermission.

After the Falcons scored to open the second half, tying the game at 36-36, Lasell scored eight of the next 10 points to build a 44-36 lead with 17:22 to play. The two teams battled over the next 10 minutes, the Falcons would trim the Lasell lead to two or four points, and the visitors would push their lead back to six to eight.

The Falcons mounted the game-changing run with seven minutes remaining and Lasell holding on to a 64-60 lead. After a missed three pointer by Watson, Kenny Armstead snared the offensive rebound for Albertus and made a pair of free throws after drawing a foul.

Lasell got three shots on their next trip, but were unable to take advantage of their offensive rebounds, and when Armstead made one out of two free throws at the other end, the game was tied at 64-64.

Albertus scored 10 of the next 14 points, including eight by Watson in the run to take a 74-68 lead with 1:27 to play in the contest, and held off a late charge by Lasell by going 7-10 from the foul line.

Albertus will host Trinity College on Tuesday December 4th at 7 p.m. while Lasell will host Brandeis University at 8 p.m. on Tuesday the 4th.