Second Half Comeback Propels Lasell to 64-58 Overtime Victory

Newton, Mass. (02/05/13) – The Lasell College men's basketball staged a second half comeback to earn a 64-58 overtime victory over the visiting Monks of St. Joseph's College (Maine). The victory was the third in the last four games for the Lasers  and moved Lasell to 6-17 on the season and 5-11 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference play. The loss dropped St. Joseph's to 14-8 overall and 9-6 in league action.

Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) scored a game-high 20 points for Lasell, and junior Brock Walters (Jacksonville, Fla.) went 6-10 from three point territory for a career-high 18 points and tied a career-high with seven rebounds. Chris Canino tallied 11 points and snared a team-high eight rebounds and Mike Vallone finished with seven points and a game-high six assists.

Nicholas Jobin led the way for St. Joseph's (Maine) with 17 points on 7-10 shooting from the floor. Matthew Medeiros finished with 13 points for the Monks, and Steve Simonds grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds and chipped in five points.

Lasell took a 14-11 lead with 11:17 to play in the opening half on a kick-out three by Walters from Chris Canino. The visiting Monks then put the clamps on Lasell, and closed the opening half on an 18-1 run over the final 11 minutes of the first half to take a 29-15 into the break.

The Monks pushed their lead to 16 on two occasions in the early moments of the second half, the last of which was 39-23 with 15:22 remaining in the game. Angel Ortiz scored seven straight points for Lasell with only a pair of free throws from the Monks mixed in to cut the deficit to 41-30 with 14:11 on the clock.

A lay-up by Krubiel Workie put St. Joseph's back up 43-30, only to see Lasell answer with a 14-0 run over a span of 2:29 that featured three triples by Walters to put the hosts ahead 44-43 with 10:10 left in the game.

St. Joseph's went ahead 50-46 with just over four minutes left on a jumper by Medeiros, but Lasell answered with back-to-back three pointers by Ortiz and Walters to go ahead 52-50 with 2:08 on the clock. Medieros got fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to tie the game at 52-52 with 44 seconds remaining. Lasell missed a jumper at the buzzer sending the game into overtime.

Ortiz knocked down a jumper to put Lasell ahead 54-52, and the Monks responded with a pair of free throws with 3:39 to play in the extra period knotting the game at 54-54. Rob Watts drilled a corner three to give Lasell a 57-54 lead, but a pair of shots from the charity stripe cut the Lasell lead to 57-56 with just over a minute to play.

Freshmen Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) buried a three pointer with five seconds on the shot clock and 41 seconds left in the game to push the hosts lead back to four at 60-56, but the Monks answered with a basket by Jobin to make the game 60-58 with 17 seconds to play. Lasell broke the Monks pressure and got a dunk by Canino to re-establish the Lasell lead at 62-58 and the Lasers closed out the 64-58 victory from the free throw line.

Lasell will be off until Saturday Feb. 9^th when they will host Emmanuel College at 4:00 p.m. while the Monks will visit Albertus Magnus on the 9^th for a 3:00 tilt.