Men's Basketball Claims Double OT Win against Mount Ida, 83-81

NEWTON, Mass. (1/11/14) – The Lasell College men's basketball team won a double overtime thriller, 83-81 against Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Mount Ida College. The Lasers ran their winning streak to five games with the victory, pushing their record to 7-4 on the season and 4-1 in GNAC contests. Mount Ida slipped to 4-8 on the year and 2-4 in league action.

Brandon Ganesh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) led all scorers with 31 points for the Lasers, converting 10-22 shots from the field and 10-12 from the free throw line. Clyde Niba (Atlanta, Ga.) posted his fifth double-double of the season, tallying 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds while Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) chipped in 10 points on the night.

Everett Ramirez was one of four Mustangs in double figures, pacing the visitors with 21 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. Treace Macklin and Ethan Dujon each added 17 points for Mount Ida and Kenny Jean chipped in 14 points off the bench.

Ganesh gave the Lasers the lead with a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining on the clock in the second overtime to put Lasell in front 83-81. Ganesh was fouled driving to the rim following a three pointer by Macklin with 11 seconds remaining that tied the game. Lasell weathered a 25 foot jumper by Macklin at the buzzer to earn the victory. The game featured twelve ties and four lead changes,

Lasell jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, the biggest for either team in the contest only to watch the Mustangs grind their way back into the game. The Mustangs tied the game at 17-17 on a triple from Ramirez and neither team was able to build more than a four point lead as the two teams headed into the intermission tied at 31-31.

Lasell again jumped out to an early lead in the second half, opening up with an 11-2 run to build a 42-33 edge just over four minutes into the half. Mount Ida used an old fashioned three point play from Michael Johnson to stop the Lasers momentum and make it 42-36. The two teams continued to trade baskets, with Lasell continuing to hold off Mount Ida, but unable to put the visitors away either.

The Mustangs finally tied the game at 54-54 on a layup by Kenny Jean and then after each team traded scores the visitors too their first lead of the second half at 59-56 on a three pointer by Ramirez with 3:44 remaining. Lasell tied the game at 61-61 on a long range make from Niba, and then tied it again at 63-63 on a pair of free throws by Ganesh following a jumper by the Mustangs' Jean.

Both teams failed to convert on their final possessions of regulation, sending the game to overtime. An offensive rebound put-back by Michael Johnson and a post score by Jean gave Mount Ida a 67-63 lead with two and a half to play, but an offensive rebound basket by Lasell's Chris Canino (Hartford, Conn.) cut the lead to two. Lasell's Jeremy Daniel (Bridgeport, Conn.) drew an offensive foul on Ramirez, and Ganesh's pull-up jumper tied the score at 67-67 with 1:23 left in the overtime. Ramirez grabbed a key offensive rebound with 52 seconds on the clock on the Mustangs next possession and converted the layup to put the Mustangs back in front 69-67.

Clyde Niba was fouled with 35 seconds to play, and made one out of two, leaving the Lasers trailing 69-68 with just over half a minute remaining. A pair of shots from the charity stripe from Ramirez gave Mount Ida a three point cushion at 71-68 with 31 seconds left.

A Ganesh miss from three point territory fell to Lasell's O'Brien, who put back the rebound to cut the lead to 71-70 with 18 seconds left.

Lasell trapped Ramirez in the back court on the in-bounds pass, and the Mustangs guard was whistled for a flagrant foul when his elbow connected with Ganesh's face as he attempted to split the double team. Ganesh converted one out of two to tie the game at 71-71, but his jumper just before the buzzer was blocked by Kenny Jean and the two teams headed to a second overtime.

Ganesh opened the second overtime with a pair of free throws, and after a layup by Mount Ida's Nate Bueno tied the score at 73-73, an Angel Ortiz (East Lyme, Conn.) three and a jumper by Ganesh gave the Lasers a 78-73 advantage with 1:17 left in the period. Treace Macklin buried a three pointer from the top of the key for the Mustangs to trim the deficit to 78-76. Ganesh knocked down a jumper late in the shot clock to put Lasell back ahead by four, but Jean scored in the paint with 22 seconds left to cut the Lasell lead to two at 80-78. Ganesh converted one out of two from the line after being fouled with 18 seconds left, setting the stage for Macklin's tying trifecta and then his own game-winning free throws.

Mount Ida will head to St. Joseph's College of Maine on Wednesday January 15^th, while the Lasers will look to avenge their lone GNAC loss when they host Johnson and Wales University on Wednesday January 15^th at 7:00 p.m.