Second Half Run Sends Johnson and Wales Past Lasell in Men's Hoops

Providence, R.I. – Sophomore Tom Garrick, Jr. (Seekonk, Mass.) tallied a game-high 27 points to lead the Johnson & Wales University men's basketball team to an impressive 90-68 victory against Lasell in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest at the Wildcat Center on Thursday evening.

Lasell was led by sophomore Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.) with 26 points and six rebounds while fellow sophomore Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) added 14 points in the setback.  Junior Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) notched 12 points and six caroms for the Lasers.

JWU had five players in double-figures as senior Esaie Touze (Providence, R.I.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds while sophomore Quarry Greenaway (Westchester, N.Y.) also had a double-double with 14 points, 10 boards, seven steals and six assists.  Junior Frank Robinson (Providence, R.I.) and senior Curtis Lucas (Providence, R.I.) were also in double-figures with 12 and 10 points respectively in the win for the Wildcats.

Johnson & Wales had control of the action early and raced out to an 18-11 lead on a jumper by Greenaway with 13:24 left in the first half.  The Wildcats largest lead of the stanza came when a three-pointer by Lewis put the squad up 36-21 with just over six minutes remaining on the clock.  Lasell chipped away in the later stages of the half and cut the JWU lead to 40-32 heading into the locker room at halftime.  JWU shot 52.2 % (12-for-23) from the field, including 7-of-11 from behind the three-point stripe.

Lasell climbed all the way back and opened the second half with an 11-2 run, capped by a three pointer by Niba to take the 43-42 lead with 17:23 remaining.  JWU held the 49-48 lead with 14:42 lead before regaining command of the game with a 10-1 run of their own for the 59-49 advantage with 11:37 left on the clock.  The Wildcats continued to build on the advantage throughout the second half en-route to the 90-68 victory.

The Wildcats improved to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in the GNAC while Lasell dropped to 2-4 for the year and 1-1 in league play.  Lasell will return home to host Emmanuel College on Saturday December 7^th at 3:00 p.m.