Anchormen Edge Past Men's Basketball 75-57

NEWTON, Mass. (11/20/14) – Lasell College fell to Rhode Island College 75-55 in non-conference men's basketball action Thursday evening. The loss drops the Lasers to 0-2, while the Anchormen jump to 2-1.

Junior forward Pat Marchand (Cranston, R.I.) unleashed on the court for the Lasers, continuing his offensive streak with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Junior guard Richard O'Brien (Manchester, N.H.) tallied 11 points, followed by junior guard Pedro Pabon (Queens, N.Y.) who chipped in with 10 points.

Senior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) led the offensive surge for the Anchormen, nearly reaching double figures with a game-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Senior guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, Mass.) followed just behind Burton with 17 points, while senior forward Patrick Matthews (Waipahu, Hawaii) came off the bench with 12 points.

After the first two minutes of scoreless play, Pabon opened up the game with two points at the line. Junior center Mike Neal (Pawtucket, R.I.) answered the 0-2 deficit for the Anchormen with a layup to tie the game up at two points each. Until the sixth minute, the score lingered within a two-point window. An O'Brien three-pointer would pull the Lasers up 14-8, but were then defied with a ten-point run from the Anchormen. With 7:08 left in the half, freshman guard Scott Arsenault (Walpole, Mass.) drained a three-point shot to put the Lasers just two points behind.

Marchand sunk a three-point shot and added a layup to put the Lasers at 35 points, but the Anchormen continued their drive to the basket to put up 40 at half.

Rhode Island College opened the second half with an eight-point run from a pair of three's and a layup from Washington and Burton. Lasell's Marchand capitalized on a defensive rebound to sink a layup, followed by an Ortiz free throw to put the game at 48-40.

The Anchormen began to pull away offensively with ten minutes left in regulation when Neal finished a pass from Alleyne to give Rhode Island a 16-point lead. Junior guard Anthony Simmons (Stamford, Conn.) finished a shot outside the arc to give Lasell 50 points on the board, but was countered with an Alleyne layup.

A trio of free throws by Pabon cut the deficit to an eight-point game with 2:28 left. However, with 1:20 left, Washington would sink two shots at the line, followed by a pair of dunks from Burton and sophomore forward Terrance Tribble (White Plains, N.Y.) to give the visitors 73 points.

Pabon made a final three-point shot for the Lasers, while Alleyne ended the game with two shots at the line for a final score of 75-57.

Both teams will jump back into non-conference action on Saturday, November 22^nd. The Lasers will travel to Nichols College for a 12:00 p.m. game, while the Anchormen host Brandeis University for their home-opener at 1:00 p.m.